Samuel Orange is an unique auteur and self-described alchemist with a deep and abiding interest in the unification and reciprocity of spirituality and art. His performance troupe, The Alchemic Order is behind The Picture of Dorian Gray, a theatrical reinterpretation of Oscar Wilde’s Victorian novel of the same name. The show, which takes place in a secret townhouse in Greenwich, runs until 1 November. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to to peak inside the mind of Mr. Orange, whose personality seems to evoke the bohemian spirit of Oscar Wilde himself.

The Custodian: How did you first come up with the name The Alchemic Order?

Samuel Orange: I have been learning alchemy. During my first phase of work I attracted Artists and Thinkers of what I would call an alchemic sensibility. I feel that what I am doing is not conventional theatrical practice. The word order closer describes the ideals and nature of our intercommunion than the word company. The Alchemic Order abbreviates to TAO, which means, ‘the way’; in other words, I would like to propose alternative routes to the creation of theatrical art.

C: What was your process of assembling the ‘alchemists’ for your creative production and design team?

S: I think that they assembled themselves; some consciously, others less so. If certain people are not part of this, in heart and soul, circumstance, or the powers that be, seem to have a way of turning them around. This extra-dimensional presence somehow guides energies into being and doing.

C: Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Faustian tale which explores the themes of hedonism, megalomania, and existential angst within the milieu of Victorian aestheticism. What attracted you to the story and why did you decide to make it into a play?

S: The Picture of Dorian Gray is my favourite novel. Each time I read it, I am awed anew by Wilde’s erudition, his grasp of a vast spiritual scope of wisdom. The power of this story is immense. The work is epic and it is alchemically alive. The presence of Wilde guides us. As totem to me, he enters consciousness, in ways beyond my understanding. I realize that I am fulfilling an ancestral destiny, in a manner akin to midwifery; assisting his ideas to be reborn in a different age, within a new medium. The Picture of Dorian Gray communicates on levels unheard or unspoken of. What also fascinates and delights me is how Wilde manages to speak to us through this novel. There is a subtle voice – or, indeed, multiple voices – intricately woven into the text that guide us; opening doors of perception that are often missed or misunderstood. He communicates all this with the strength of a gentle hero, laughing with us, joking, almost pedagogically so and generally, fascinating us with his sovereign charms. What he says is profound, visionary, omnipotent. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a study of the pre- and post- classical mythological and theological world views and their relationship to the nature of soul; it charts the universal processes of the nature of artistic creation; it is an investigation into the interconnections between aesthetics and metaphysics; the transcendental nature of beauty and it’s relationship to form. It is a supreme artefact of what Wilde himself calls, in the preface, ‘the perfect use of an imperfect medium’. It is a tragi-comedy, balancing a knifes-edge dialectic between ritual and how these rituals bring into being new forms and mediums – prefiguring the last artistic medium invented in human history, namely, the moving image and of course, modernist painting. Encompassing a vast human journey on an epic, spiritual scale, Wilde asks all of the questions, yet is careful not to claim ultimate answers. Although, like a prophet, he lights a candle, in order for us, together, to illuminate our journey through the darkness. I have no doubt that this text will one day be treated as a kind of religious document. Although I have written a script and ‘made a play’, I am not entirely convinced that this was my intention. What I would like to do is to create the experience Dorian Gray. The media I have created, with some very talented Artists, are self-evident expressions of this experience, not only sets or costumes to support Actors playing out a narrative, but a conspiracy of media.

C: The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in Fin de siècle London, when the city was quite literally overrun with practicing occultists, opium dens, literary salons, and ghastly legends of real people (Jack the Ripper) and fantastical spirits. Many think this was London’s most interesting period–what do you think?

S: I haven’t lived in any other age so I couldn’t say for sure, but I think that right now is definitely one of the most interesting times in London’s history. I loved the fact that during our research we found out about Oscar’s involvements in magical, alchemic, transformational secret societies. He truly is a Master of Ceremonies. But it is always the now that is the most interesting time. In fact, is there really any other time other than the present?

C: As a director, what are your philosophical and artistic inspirations?

S: I would like to create a renewed theatrical relationship. I was never happy with the theatre being perceived as a building, in a particular place in town, with celebrities onstage and ice-creams during the interval. In our age of internet, recorded media, arena-type nightclubs and general permissiveness, why is it that people still go to ‘the theatre’? One might say, ‘to be entertained’, but that is not the whole story when we consider the endless avenues open for people’s amusement; with outlets available at the touch of a button (and for far less money or hassle than going to the theatre), people will choose to attend a show. For me, it is predominately about the ritual. By this, I do not simply mean the act, the circumstance, the means, or the acquired set of patterns of behavior. I realise that ever since Stanislavski, (some might even say Aristotle) we have, in the west, subordinated this ritual toward the character, the playwright, the text or score; theatre has become an intellectual investigation, a psycho-study or a history museum. Theatrical Artists are influenced by the recorded media, by the literate approach, by the canon; and too much by one another. This is all fine, but it is not theatre at it’s very heart. Theatre is where we undertake transformational processes. This has something to do with the temporal and spatial realms; in fact, these spheres are essential to it. But for me, it is beyond catharsis, lecture demonstrations or entertainment. My Wilde adaptation has been described as ‘site-specific’ and ‘immersive’. But I had never thought about it this way. In fact, I have never even seen any of this sort of work, which seems to be terribly fashionable right now. For me, all theatre is site-specific and immersive. What I intended to do was to bring it back home. To my home, initially. It is important to me that it is my home and not some house that has been taken over for a show. I realise that my sense of theatricality originated in the home. My mother used to make me dressing up clothes and when we were expecting visitors, I used to dress up and run down the stairs, transformed. Now, this might not appear as particularly interesting, but when truly considered, that is what we are all doing – all of our lives! The mass corporatism of theatre, with it’s commercialism masquerading as professionalism, can never take that away. So where better to begin than in my home? Another quandary I had was about breaking narratives. This is something I have toyed with for a long time. Although elements of ritual may be better explored by breaking narratives, by doing so, we break the audiences’ shared event of story. The communion. Somehow, this element seems mandatory. So in answer to your question, I am inspired by the journey of unearthing the foundations, like an archeologist digging for treasure. I am inspired by the religions, cults, alchemy, prayers, lucid dreaming, out of body encounters, ancestors, metaphysics, spiritual experiences and not least of all – aesthetics and the search for beauty.

C: What’s your vision for The Alchemic Order’s future projects?

S: My vision for the future revolves around the research and application of the science of theatrical art and how the metaphysical dimensions play a part. One needs thorough investigations, with research methodologies, laboratory, a team, etc. so one can practically excavate the human landscape. This is relatively difficult to form in our age of commerce and industry. So, I would like to acquire the means in order to create a Symposia, in order to conduct extensive research and development work. I am interested in Metaphysics, ritual, healing. I feel something of a new medium is being born. It has something to do with the science of acting and something beyond the science of acting. This is one branch of work that I would like to take the company into. The other strand would be the actual production of works. I would like these two branches of work to have a fruitful, symbiotic relationship.

For more information about Samuel Orange and his The Picture of Dorian Gray see below:

www.thealchemicorder.com

*Header photograph of Samuel Orange as Lord Henry Wotton courtesy of Sebastian Lister

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