SELFIE, MACBETH

The National Youth Theatre is an enduring star in the firmament of British theatre. It began in 1956 as the first of its kind in the world, offering actor training and opportunities for young people unable to afford drama school. As NYT alumni and patron Dame Helen Mirren states in the programme: ‘I could only become an actress because of the existence of the National Youth Theatre.’ Created in 2012, the NYT REP gives 15 of our most talented young actors a 10-week residency at the Ambassadors.

Selfie is a retelling of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Brad Birch. Sadly, despite plenty of raw acting and musical talent, this was a thin, disappointing adaptation. It felt overlong and at times rather vacuous. Selfie swaps the dark gothic of the original for a play about the importance of public image in today’s shiny, trendy, endlessly remade London, where Dorian is now a she – and the portrait is a picture taken on her phone. The original Dorian Gray’s Faustian bargain with the devil to maintain his youthful, innocent visage, while leading a life of hedonism, has been replaced by the story of a lonely narcissist who wants to keep on looking good.

Dorian, played by versatile Kate Kennedy, is female and lesbian, which is an interesting twist, but she often seems more of a victim than protagonist. The hedonistic aristocracy of the original has been transferred to the contemporary world of Shoreditch hipsters, whose dullish life is buoyed up with their obsession with retro steampunk technology (penny-farthings and a monocle version of Google Glass). However, despite an engaging performance from Ragevan Vasan’s selfie artist Basil who’s in love with Dorian and an ironic one from Dominic Grove’s beardy Harry, it is hard to care for any of the characters.

The company is on surer ground with a muscular, stripped-down version of Macbeth. The First World War setting seemed gimmicky and unhelpful. However, there was solid verse speaking throughout and a gutsy performance from Jeremy Neumark Jones as Macbeth, as the play hurtled through the plot.

The witches showed directorial inventiveness, but Grace Chilton’s acerbic, clowning Porter was a show-stopping tour de force. Sophie Dyke’s Lady Macbeth was perhaps too much the alpha female and there was precious little of the intimacy that exists between the Macbeths: Shakespeare’s happiest married couple.

Until 26 November at Ambassadors Theatre, London WC2: 0844-811 2334, www.nyt.org.uk