Reviewed by David Roberts

Much has been made about the opening scene (two hotel employees -- a man and a woman -- engaging in oral sex on an unmade bed in the room being prepared for Oscar Wilde) of David Hare's "The Judas Kiss" (at the Broadhurst through August 2). Some audience members have found it offensive, some have found it unnecessary, some have found it for "shock value" only, some, I'm sure have found it titillating. I found it informative and important to the play as I assume David Hare did. The scene is informative because despite jolly old England's stiff upper lip, sexual expression was obviously alive and well. Important because, we learn that one could express oneself sexually as long as one wasn't gay -- which Oscar Wilde was.

The first act of Hare's play focuses on Wilde's impending arrest on charges of "gross indecency" and the decision he has to make whether to stay in London and try to win in the court and in the arena of public opinion or to flee and try to escape arrest. Wilde (Liam Neeson) listens to his long time friend (and first lover) Robbie Ross (Peter Capaldi) urge him to flee and his current self-serving lover Lord Alfred Douglas (Tom Hollander) urge him to stay and work with the system.

Wilde remains and is imprisoned for two years. After his release, he and Bosie live in exile in Naples where, in the play's second act, Wilde discovers Bosie's real indifference to him and his lover's unwillingness to support him. As Wilde broods in his chair, Bosie brings home male partners and makes no real connection to Wilde's needs or his slow disintegration from depression and despair. Bosie's total misunderstanding of what love is serves as counterpoint to Wilde's profound understanding of what true love is and how it "plays out" in a
relationship. That love for Wilde was not found with his wife but it was present with his children whom he loved so much he could not even write to them. He tells Robbie, who makes a visit to Naples, that in his marriage "the nursery was him home, not the bedroom."

Liam Neeson gives an outstanding performance as Oscar Wilde. In his encounter with Bosie in the second act, we see this actor glued to his chair but more "active" than many actors who seem to occupy every inch of the stage. Neeson gives vitality to David Hare's script as no other actor could. When Bosie tells Wilde that he wants to be reconciled with his family, Wilde tells Bosie that "he is free," that "he always has been free," and that he wishes Bosie to be "at peace." Wilde reminds Bosie that his guiding principle has been power; whereas his own guiding principle has been his love. Neeson's delivery of these lines is so powerful as he and the chair (almost one) become the symbol of his own imprisonment and betrayal. When Wilde askes Bosie to kiss him, he realizes that this man who was supposed to be his lover was really a stranger. This scene and the final monologue are powerful examples of how important good theatre is.

"The Judas Kiss" closes on August 2 and is a "must-see" before then.

THE JUDAS KISS

By David Hare. Directed by Richard Eyre; set and costume design by Bob Crowley; lighting design by Mark Henderson; music by George Fenton; sound by John A. Leonard; production stage manager, Susie Cordon. At the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue) through August 2. Tickets are $30.00 - $60.00 and available by calling 212-239-6200.

WITH
Liam Neeson (Oscar Wilde), Tom Hollander (Lord Alfred Douglas), Peter Capaldi (Robert Ross), Stina Nielsen (Phoebe Cane), Daniel Serafini-Sauli (Galileo Masconi), Alex Walkinshaw (Arthur Wellesley), and Richard Clarke (Sandy Moffatt).

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