The Confessions of Dorian Gray is an original series from Big Finish.  Since its debut it has garnered much praise and I continually seen people raving about it on GB.  It was, originally, a download only series (although CD versions are now available) and consists of half hour episodes.  It explores the exploits of the immortal Dorian Gray – the Dorian Gray of Oscar Wilde’s famous novel (also adapted by Big Finish), The Picture of Dorian Gray.  The starting point for the series is the conceit that Dorian was a real person that Oscar met and the first story, set in 1900, introduces us to this version of Dorian as he visits a dying Oscar Wilde in Paris.

The hotel where Wilde is staying is seemingly haunted and Dorian confronts the supernatural forces.  Ghosts of some description (it remains a little vague, but they’re visible in the wallpaper) prey on those left alone in the rooms.  In the half hour running time this is really all that happens.  It is clear that the story is setting up the basic tenets of the series – Dorian’s links to the supernatural, his being a real person who inspired Wilde’s novel and Dorian’s general character – dark, slightly ruthless, decadent and a little bit sexy.

The cast of this story is small and is mostly carried by Alexander Vlahos as Dorian and Steffan Rhodri as Oscar.  Both are excellent – as are the rest of the cast – with the stand out being Vlahos.  He seems to have become a favourite of Big Finish and clearly has a strong bond with the company and the production team behind this series.  I look forward to his performance in the rest of the series as I can only imagine the fairly broad strokes of this opening episode will become more nuanced and intriguing as it progresses.

Historically, although steeped in the supernatural, there is much to interest this marathon.  Of course we are, technically, still in the Victorian era – even though my marathon has launched into the early 20th Century, with Victoria not dying until 1901.

Wilde, here on his deathbed, did indeed die in 1900.  He was indeed an encumbent of the Hotel D’Alsace in Paris (the main setting for this story) and did send a message pleading for a friend to come.  In the real history this was to Robert Ross (who appears in this story as well) rather than Dorian.  What is very intriguing is that the whole premise of the ghosts in the wallpaper is based on an actual Wilde quote: “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go.”  Wilde eventually died of cerebral meningitis and the way the story’s supernatural forces present themselves as almost like hallucinations ties the fiction with the reality in a clever way.  Reference is made, obviously, to Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and to his imprisonment in the late 1890s.

Although a slight tale, I can see the potential for this series and am enamoured enough by Alexander Vlahos’s performance to leave me looking forward to the rest.  Separated from its initial inspiration of Wilde and the late 19th century, it will be interesting to see exactly where the series goes as I’m aware the immortal Gray crops up in all sorts of time periods.  I also hope the supernatural/horror element becomes a little stronger as this story did seem to be playing it safe with an edge to the ghostly element not much darker than the average Doctor Who story.

All in all, though, a strong start.