The downfall of Boris Johnson suggests the UK may be tiring of narcissists who get others into trouble while dodging consequences themselves. If so, this might be a bad time to launch a play about Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas, known as Bosie.
Bosie is known more for his relationships with other people than his own achievements. His father was the brutish Marquess of Queensberry, and his lover was Oscar Wilde whose career and life were destroyed by the connection to Bosie. One could never really say Lord Alfred did anything positive—a late-life conversion to Roman Catholicism resulted in him condemning Wilde and becoming an antisemite.
As you would expect with a play centring on a narcissist, Bosie, written by and starring Rik Barnett, filters events through the perception of Lord Alfred. The play is set in the period with Wilde in gaol and Lord Alfred in self-exile in Europe. He is not happy, missing being the centre of scandalous attention rather than experiencing any guilt over Wilde’s fate. There is the suggestion Lord Alfred might have pushed Wilde to pursue a legal claim in an effort to inconvenience the Marquess.
The complexities of Lord Alfred’s family are spelt out with admirable brevity. His father employed sex workers and his mother doted on her son to an unhealthy degree. In one of the rare moments of Bosie showing concern for someone other than himself, he recalls the suicide of his brother who was tormented by his sexuality.
Considering Bosie is the lover of one of the greatest writers in history, he is a galloping Philistine, dismissing the antiquities of Egypt with scorn. Bosie’s dominant characteristic, apart from arrogance, is laziness. He would like to be a great writer and feels he deserves to be immortalised in print, but can’t be arsed making the effort. Although Bosie might see himself as a libertine, he really is just greedy and selfish.
Bravely, Rik Barnett plays Bosie as someone with no redeeming qualities. Bosie does not have the self-awareness that makes for a great tragic character and fails to appreciate his petty adding up the gifts Wilde gave to others reduces him to the level of the rent boys he despises. Barnett spends his time on stage looking down his nose at other people, including the audience (‘’ Still here?’’ he sighs when taking his bows). He finds the rent boys attractive but sneers at their rough accents.
The audience is dropped in at the deep end with Bosie reciting names without any context. He particularly loathes Robbie Ross who remained loyal to Wilde and, unlike Bosie, made some effort on his behalf. There is a deeply nasty tone to the play. The relationship with Wilde is calculating, not passionate. Like his father, Bosie is a bully and the dominating sexual partner, but his taste runs to young teens, and he openly mocks the overweight and elderly Wilde. Some of the best nights they had together were when Wilde was impotent and Bosie could have access to the young sex workers.
Director Tuirenn Hurstfield emphases the spoilt nature of the central character. Rik Barnett is in constant motion, preening around the stage, brushing his hair and generally behaving like a brat. It is hard to leave the theatre without wanting to slap Barnett, and one would really like to see him tackle a role with more humanity or one of the great villains like Iago.
Great play, superb performance, unworthy subject.