Oscar Wilde’s cautionary tale of The Picture of Dorian Gray is well known and loved by generations of literature, film and theatre fans. The National Youth Theatre REP Company perform in this updated setting, immediately recognisable as Wilde’s play and at the same time an intriguingly fresh presentation transported to the hipster corners of modern-day London. Our superficial world of vintage clothes, extraordinary facial hair, and anything that is alternative and not mainstream, is shown up and made a mockery of – a timeless story of beauty, celebrity and vanity.

The cast of young and vivacious actors created a good ensemble, and some deserving of high praise. Kate Kennedy as Dorian Gray is dynamic and impressive in her stage presence; made to not like her, we as an audience are still captivated by her performance. Dominic Grove and Stuart Wilde, as Harry and Mason, brought a huge amount of fun, charm and eccentricity to an evening filled with very dark and serious matters, their gambits by far the most entertaining sections of the piece. Away from the world of penny-farthings and Instagram is the very real and passionate performance of Ellie Bryans as Sybil Vane, a very moving portrayal and a victim of Dorian’s carelessness and inability to love. A beautifully characterised performance comes from the small role of Hope Vane played by Iqra Rizwan. Some performances, however, missed the mark. Fabian McCallum as James Vane, Sybil’s tormented brother, was disinteresting and felt thoroughly unreal. Some of the smaller characters too fell through the cracks of the play with relatively minor and shallow characterisations, not helped entirely by a script that was not nearly enough witting and hard hitting. It could have been half as long, and at times lacked pace. There was however a huge amount of energy and vibrancy from these actors working tremendously hard in this very stylised adaption.

The musical soundworld accompanying the play epitomizes the nightclub lifestyle of its characters, and was well sung and played by the actor-musicians. The visual elements of the piece worked extremely well, particularly the projected backdrops and the vivid ever-changing mirror displaying Dorian’s portrait. Some very striking tableaus too were created emphasising the photographic nature of piece; I certainly came away from the evening very conscious of my own vanity and online photo presence. In this regard Selfie is very successful, with its updated setting the piece absolutely hits the mark and is a satire for our times. With some stunning performances the piece is, for the most of it, engrossing and a very enjoyable evening.

Selfie is playing at the Ambassadors Theatre until 12 November. For more information and tickets, see the National Youth Theatre website. Photo by Ellie Kurttz.