Being the Wilde Queen, this article caught my attention immediately. Ms. McCarthy does not seem to agree with WelshCake playing John Gray. :) As Matthew Bourne's version of The Picture of Dorian Gray comes to Sadler's Wells, Fiona MacCarthy uncovers the bizarre story of John Gray, the 'young Adonis' on whom Oscar Wilde based his celebrated character <...> In Wilde's story, the boy Dorian is a "young Adonis" who looks as if he were made of "ivory and rose leaves". The description tallies with a contemporary photograph taken of John Gray standing in a garden wearing an immaculate white suit, white shoes and boater, meaningfully shooting an arrow from a bow. It is a reminder of how wrong it was to cast the saturnine Ioan Gruffudd as John Gray in the Stephen Fry movie Wilde: the real Gray was much blonder and more exquisite. He always appeared more youthful than he was. At 25 he could pass for a 15-year-old. Even as a venerable canon, he still looked like a large baby, soft-skinned and unlined. http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/aug/30/matthewbourne.wilde

Hi Stevie! We must be on together. Me because of insomnia. Annee, for the first time you've done me a favor with your google alerts, and not because of Ioan. Although I disagree with Ioan's casting of John Gray. I think that critique came out of Ioan's taking on the mantle of Rock Hudson. I didn't know that whole Wilde story. And I think that Ioan, although he's not aging as Dorian at all, was a good call! I just love Matthew Bourne and all his work. Who else can bring homoeroticism in the face of the Royals? :clap: Bourne's works are just wonderful! If you've not seen Bourne's Swan Lake, it's readily available on DVD. I bought my copy and watch it as regularly as I used to watch Hornblower. The male swans are just captivating! Adam Cooper, who plays the bit part of the Swan at the end of Billy Elliott made me look for Swan Lake. Adam is such a powerful dancer! Hold on, I have some photos. Adam is just a captivating dancer! Then there's Wll Kemp, who was one of the 4 major Swans in Swan Lake. He went on to dance the Swan in later productions, as did Adam's brother Simon Cooper. Adam, Will, and Simon with Matthew Bourne. Will also danced in the incomparable Car Man, Bourne's takeoff on Bizet's Carmen. There are solos with Will Kemp that just chill the soul with emotion. Another performance available on DVD. Will played the werewolf in Van Helsing, and he used every fiber of his dance body. He also appeared just dancing like crazy in a Gap commercial. You can find these guys via Google. It's well worth looking. Adam and Will and Matthew Bourne all have sites with extraordinary photos. Any of these DVDs is worth what you can pay or rent via Netflix (be careful, netflix has some bad copies). As much talent as Ioan has as an actor, these guys have it all over him. There's nothing as sex on wheels as a man who can really dance! I got to see a traveling production of Swan Lake a couple of years back, and while the Swan was not nearly as good as Adam or Will, it was just a memorable evening. So Stevie, if you get a chance GO! And go for me too :love: I love Wilde's gravestone in the Paris cemetary. Edited to say: The first Swan photo is actually Will Kemp. That's what happens when you have insomnia. I'll dig up a good Adam Cooper one, although my copy of Billy Elliot is trashed in the end with Adam playing the adult Billy.

Agreement on all counts about Mathew Bourne, Havoc (and men who can dance!) Sadler's Wells is very pricey, but having the Copper in the Big Smoke makes the trip cheaper - I'm definitley going to try. About Ioan and Gray. I agree he was a good call too! So what if he didn't play it as a blonde, he had that necessary flawless youth at the time (what was that comment about Gray looking 15 when he was 25? Ioan played 17 very convincingly when he was 24 - not far off!)

Clip from Billy Elliott that has caused many to look for Bourne's Swan Lake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uyg24hOiog&feature=related Some clips from the "white act" of Swan Lake. Emma Thompson once asked if she could suck the feathers off of Adam's britches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIwzT-EGSws Will Kemp's Gap ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ap5WW80yg Will in Car Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3DxqEuEd9o Not off topic. Oscar would have very much appreciated these guys!

I thoroughly enjoyed Billy Elliott when I saw it in the movies. Really loved the whole spirit of the movie. Great pics and information regarding Swan Lake, Havoc. As for Ioan, I thought he portrayed beautiful, petulant youth well and the sting of lost first love exceptionally well. Doesn't matter to me that he wasn't blond. I much prefer the dark curls.

Ioan's face in his scenes is what make his performance so beguiling. Don't care what color his hair would have been,my attention is drawn to the face. He tells an entire lover's story with it alone.

Ah yes! That expressive face! He did show the pangs of a love lost in a very touching way. Makes you wonder if his youthful heart will recover from Oscar's callousness.

Wow, as someone who loves dance (a ticket to the opening show of Milan's La Scala dance season one year was one of the best gifts I was given by my family) and thoroughly liked Billy Elliott, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the info about The Swan Lake, Adam Cooper, Will Kemp and Matthew Bourne, Havoc.