“London, 1918. When wartime hysteria pillories Oscar Wilde’s Salomé for corrupting the nation with homosexuality, Robert Ross – the late author’s literary executor, devoted friend, and “first boy” (or so he believes) – is once again made to defend the legacy he sacrificed his life to protect. As a courtroom circus shatters the memories he has spent decades curating, the line between devotion and delusion begins to blur. This is a story about saints who are canonised by love and fools who sacrificed themselves for it. Oxford New Writing Festival runner-up: Best Play.”
Where: Olive Studio at Greenside @ George Street
When: 17-29 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/1918-the-final-salom
What can you tell us about your show? What is it about and where did the idea come from?
1918: The Final Salomé grew out of an unfinished biography. For two years I’d been researching Robert Ross — Oscar Wilde’s ex-lover and devoted literary executor — and the gaps in the historical record kept tempting me into wild speculations. Those
speculations were entirely unfit for serious scholarship but binning them felt like a waste. So, almost on a whim, I decided to write a play instead.
Having never written creatively before, the first steps were terrifying. But the moment I freed my imagination from academic rigour, the characters began to speak for themselves, and what had seemed incomprehensible to me as a biographer suddenly made perfect sense. What emerged is something I hope is far more exciting than what my biography might have offered: a story about love and memory that explores the very thin line between devotion and delusion.
How would you sell it to audiences in one paragraph?
It’s a tragic love story revolving around a conspiracy theory called the ‘Cult of the Clitoris’ which made people want to (metaphorically) kick Oscar Wilde’s corpse.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
Promoting the Cult of the Clitoris on the Royal Mile.
Do you enjoy the Fringe? Any memorable moments?
Personally, I’ve enjoyed the Fringe as an audience member. Last year, my partner and I particularly enjoyed Tom at the Farm (Pleasance @EICC) and Anti-Gone 俺抬杠 (Greenside @George Street). This is my first time on the other side. The most memorable moment so far was opening the accommodation bill — but I’m sure we will make more (and hopefully
better) memorable moments once we head up.
What’s next for the show?
In an ideal world, a tour. More realistically, post-fringe blues, existential crisis, a revelation at 3am, and yet another rewrite.