2010-2011 Season

World Premiere
MY SCANDALOUS LIFE
By Thomas Kilroy

W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre
February 2 - March 6, 2011

Set in 1944 in the middle of the Second World War...Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's beloved Bosie, overcome with memories of the notorious love affair which rocked the world struggles to examine the mysteries of his own identity.

Forever linked to Wilde... the scandal... the violent trials which led to Wilde's imprisonment... the guilt... and the subsequent half century he lived after the death of Wilde whilst alone in Paris in 1900, Bosie searches for the very personal meaning of a life forever the subject of endless conjecture.

As his wife, Olive, lies dying upstairs, Lord Douglas displays unexpected depths of feelings, as he copes with his marriage, his memories of Oscar, and the tragic fate of his only son.

Generous support for MY SCANDALOUS LIFE provided by Culture Ireland as part of Imagine Ireland.

Performance Schedule:

Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm
Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday at 3pm

There is no late seating for Studio Theatre shows.

What the Critics Have to Say...

"No aspect of the previous performances Des Keogh has given at The Irish Repertory Theatre could have suggested the depth and precision of the extraordinary work he delivers as Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas in Thomas Kilroy's play, 'My Scandalous Life.' KILROY'S BOSIE, AS RENDERED RELENTLESSLY AND UNFORGIVINGLY, BY THE BRILLIAN DES KEOGH IS ONE OF THE FINEST, STRONGEST, MOST DISCIPLINED PERFORMANCES EVER SEEN ON EITHER OF THE IRISH REP'S TWO STAGES." - Irish Echo  

Critics Choice! "IN THE ASSURED HANDS OF ACTOR DES KEOGH, THIS IS A PORTRAIT THAT OSCAR ENTHUSIASTS WILL RELISH. Keogh, under John Going's meticulous direction, delivers this compilation of contradictions with easy conviction. TOIBIN'S EILEEN IS LIKE A FORCE OF NATURE, A STRONG WIND BLOWING THROUGH THE ACCRETION OF LIES, THE DUST OF YESTERDAY." - Backstage

"HERE'S A GEM OF A PLAY AS ENTERTAINING AS IT IS INSIGHTFUL, AS HILIARIOUS AS IT IS HEART-BREAKING, AND ALL SO SKILLFULLY PERFORMED BY TWO OF IRELAND'S MOST MASTERFUL ACTORS. Des Keogh brings us a timeless Lord Alfred Douglas with jaw-dropping skill and precision, whilst Fiana Toibin's rollecking Irish Maid delivers a punch right to the gut of the stage." - Irish Examiner

"WELL-KNOWN IRISH ACTOR DES KEOGH DELIVERS A PROBING INTERPRETATION OF LORD ALFRED QUESTIONING HIS SELF-WORTH AND GIVING VOICE TO HIS SUSPICIONS, HATREDS AND PERSONAL ANGUISH. Though My Scandalous Life is essentially a one-man play it does have another character in Eileen (Fiana Tiobin), Olive's large, feisty maid/caretaker. Her occasional blustering entrances lift the mood of Boise's brooding monologue and add enough of a comical edge not to make her an irrelevant aside. She also keeps the story thrusting forward, bringing up some details that carry Bosie to another subject. The focus on one actor through one character's memories and grievances can drag heavily in less adept hands, yet under director John Going, Bosie and Eileen's interactions revive sluggish moments, serving the plot and keeping the tale compelling. Des Keogh brings to life Bosie's moods of nostalgia, his desperate prayers and his red-faced fury. FIANA TOIBIN IS A BLUSTERY QUESTIONING DYNAMO. Yet, even while never shown actually caring for Olive and later Raymond, she seems to be dedicated to her charges." - CurtainUp

"Des Keogh (Lord Douglas) seems patrician to his very bones. ELEGANT SPEECH AND GRACEFUL, RESTRAINED PHYSICALITY (look at the way he lowers himself into a chair or sips his port) ADD RICHNESS TO WRITTEN ATTITUDE. The portrait is effectively brittle and defensive. Quick dismissive gestures as Douglas rids himself of unwanted trains of thought are telling. FIANA TOIBIN (Eileen) IS COMPLETELY NATURAL. Her solid, stoic, country maid, having been taken into her mistress’s confidence, crosses the line of her station several times. Tolbin’s missteps and realizations are beautifully (visibly) timed to self-preservation and resolve. Eileen’s perceptions are kept verbally in check, but also deftly apparent. JOHN GOING (Director) HAS MANAGED VARIETY IN AN EXTREMELY INTIMATE SPACE. CHARLIE CORCORAN (Set Design) HAS DONE A LOT WITH A LITTLE (SPACE). The room is period appropriate, class stiff, and properly neat. Double doors work nicely. Angles and panels are evocative. DAVID TOSER (Costume Design) HAS DRESSED EILEEN WITH GREAT FLAIR. HIS MOURNING SUIT FOR LORD DOUGLAS (when his wife dies) IS EQUALLY WELL CRAFTED." - WomanAroundTown

"AN ELOQUENT, MASTERFUL PERFORMANCE FROM VETERAN ACTOR DES KEOGH." - BlogCritics.org