Salomé, or the Cult of the Clitoris: A Historical Phallusy
adapted by Mitchell Polonsky from Oscar Wilde's Salome and Noel Pemberton Billing's trial
Salomé, or The Cult of the Clitoris: A Historical Phallusy is a verbatim staging of the infamous libel trial that ensued following the Independent Theatre’s censored 1918 production of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé. Accused by a Member of Parliament of conspiring with a cult of lesbian secret agents to undermine the British war-effort, global superstar Maud Allan must reclaim her dignity and defend her name.
In this irreverent meditation on the aesthetics and politics of spectatorship, the female body becomes a battlefield as sexual politics turn state politics. Scurrilous passions are revealed and the thin line between the courtroom and the theatre, between fact and fiction, collapses. The climactic conclusion of Wilde’s scandalous tragedy is performed live in the courtroom. At the end of the trial, what will remain sexually deviant and what—or who—will be acceptable to desire?
Please note that this will be an ONLINE performance.
Read this year’s Gradfest programme HERE.