Helen Peacocke enjoys a breath-taking performance by Corin Redgrave
Corin Redgrave has taken centre stage to perform one of the most moving love letters ever written - and breathes life into every word.
De Profundis was written by Oscar Wilde while he was in prison in 1897, to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie). It was written on 20 folio sheets of blue-ruled prison paper and was the final literary outpouring of a great mind.
Skilful and sensitive editing by Merlin Holland, Wilde's grandson, has condensed this mammoth work into 60 minutes of dialogue which lays bare Wilde's anguish.
De Profundis was originally produced at the Royal National Theatre last year to mark the centenary of Wilde's death. It is presented in association with Moving Theatre, which Corin and his sister Vanessa formed in 1994, and directed by both Corin and Trevor Nunn.
Dressed in prison garb, against a small patch of sky flecked with moving clouds, Corin Redgrave begins. Within seconds he's totally in command of both the work and his audience.
We see before us not just a man imprisoned by bars, but by an intense love. As Corin masterfully brings this work to a close, we are left to reflect on both the meaning of sorrow and its beauty, and the incredible power of language.
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