Lord Arthur Savile's Crime
by Oscar Wilde
adapted by Malcolm Brown
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Oscar Wilde’s short story, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, was written in 1891. It is a comic satire on the morals of
the aristocracy of the time, and also ridicules the then popular science of chiromancy, or palm-reading. The story
is subtitled A Study of Duty because when Lord Arthur Savile is told by a cheiromantist that he is destined to commit
a murder, he feels that it is his “sacred duty” to get the crime out of the way before he marries Sybil Merton.
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Previous dramatisations of the story have treated it as a farce or a melodrama. While there are elements of both
these genres in the tale, it is primarily a comic satire, displaying all Wilde’s characteristic wit and humour.
There are passages of dialogue in the story which transfer easily to the stage, while narrative sections dealing
with motivation and plot have to be converted into dialogue.
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"Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" Set designs
In the original story, Lord Arthur Savile acts alone, but in the play it is necessary for him to have someone with whom
to discuss his feelings and intentions. He therefore goes to Mr. Podgers, the cheiromantist, for advice and assistance,
and eventually confides in his beloved Sybil. The attempted blackmail is the only major addition to the story, which
otherwise sticks as closely as possible to the original.
As Wilde himself was a great recycler of lines, speeches and even whole conversations, I have not hesitated to
follow his example and incorporate the occasional quotation from other works into this one where appropriate.
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Although Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime is undoubtedly a comedy, like many of Wilde’s other comedies, it deals
with serious issues. A belief in being able to predict the future, the hypocrisy and double standards of
the ruling classes and a warped sense of duty which sanctions murder, are all as relevant now as they were
when the play was written. Being able to laugh at the more extreme elements of these things, as Wilde does,
is one of the best ways of persuading people not to take them too seriously.
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"Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" Costume designs for Sybil Merton
ACT ONE
ACT TWO
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