August 26-September 1, 2004

theater

The Lives of Bosie

AGE BEFORE BEAUTY: Austin Pendleton and Tobias Segal as Lord Alfred Douglas, old and young.

by David Anthony Fox

"He is quite like a narcissus; so white and gold." The writer is, believe it or not, Oscar Wilde, who mostly knew better. The object of his gooeyness is Lord Alfred Douglas (nicknamed "Bosie"), a pretty blond lad who besotted Wilde — and (in popular imagination, at least) destroyed him.

Among Wilde aficionados and many others, Bosie is vilified, even to the extent of claims that he was indirectly but significantly responsible for Wilde's death. Recent scholarship has reconsidered Bosie in a more forgiving light, focusing both on his own skills as a poet and on some (not often reported) kindnesses toward Wilde.

John Wolfson's thoughtful, fact-filled The Lives of Bosie takes a kind of middle-distance approach in judging (fairly, I think) Bosie. As portrayed here, he emerges as (in youth) feckless and self-absorbed but basically goodhearted, and (in age) as broken and misguided — but again, not hateful except to himself.

The play's concept is that it is limited to two performers and fashioned as a dialogue between the two sides of Bosie. A young actor (Tobias Segal) plays him in golden youth; an older one (Austin Pendleton) in ruined age. Moreover, by calling the young man "Bosie" and the older one "Lord Alfred Douglas," Wolfson sets up a sparring partnership within one man — a battle, if you will, between sybaritic glamour and dowdy responsibility.

There is a certain structural elegance to this — and also in the division of two acts to represent Bosie before and after Oscar. The first act is the story of the two men's affair, the trial and Wilde's death. The second is less familiar, and I think the more interesting part of Wolfson's play: In it, we follow Bosie as he desperately tries to regroup, all the while making one terrible mistake after another, including marrying and joining an anti-Churchill faction (this in the early 1940s!). Bosie is, in a sense, repentant — but only about what he sees as his own sins, not about his role in destroying Wilde.

As I say, the structure is elegant, but as seen here, it's also often confusing. We often forget that the two actors are actually playing the same man, since they share little in looks or personal traits, and even the accents are very different.

Complicating matters, in order to get through all the necessary plot points, one of the two actors (mostly the older one) plays various other characters: Wilde in particular. Austin Pendleton does little to differentiate them, and many times I wasn't sure precisely who was telling the story. (Pendleton's entire performance is confounding. He has some very moving moments, especially in Act 2, but elsewhere this always-mannered actor seems to be in his own emotional world.)

The second act, where we are dealing more specifically with Bosie/Douglas himself, is more successful. It's a fascinating story, and one I doubt many people know. Still, there's confusion in the details here, too.

Segal, the younger actor, effectively conveys a sense of languid narcissism, but not much else. Perhaps the fault here is more in the writing, which pitches the character on a single note.

Apart from not doing enough to make the two actors seem like the same person, Bill Roudebush directs with style, and the limited scenery evokes the right world. (The costumes are less successful; surely so self-conscious a beauty as Bosie would have made sure his suit jacket flattered him!)

Following its presentation at Hedgerow, The Lives of Bosie will be seen at the Arts Bank as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Do try to catch it at Hedgerow, though: It is as charming a theater space as I've ever seen!

THE LIVES OF BOSIE Through Sept. 5, Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Rd., Media, 610-565-4211