Oscar Wilde – Introduction to Neil Titley’s blogs and photos – and much more.

Oscar Wilde – by Jim Boylan

 A warm welcome to all visitors to the website and I hope you enjoy the contents. Although there are many posts to come, over the weeks it has been continuously expanding.

 The main project so far has been the weekly retrospective travel-blog entitled

CIDER WITH BOSIE

This is the story of the perambulations of a one-man OSCAR WILDE show around the world over a 25 year period. The first post began on June 6th 2017 and the last post appeared on August 13, 2019.

The first reports came from 1993 Prague and have continued with Arabia, Hong Kong, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and India. The series ended with a lengthy account of Neil Titley’s perambulations around Ireland.

For anybody interested, be warned that you are in for the long haul – no fewer than 115 episodes in all. If you miss a post, don’t worry – it will remain online. The posts can be found in order of publishing in the right hand column of most pages. Otherwise just go to the top of this page and click on ‘Cider with Bosie’.

 

‘REVIEWS AND VENUES’

This page consists unsurprisingly of a collection of international review quotes and a list of the major previous show venues. It now includes various play bills and a collection of complete reviews.

 

‘TITLEY ON FILM’

This page highlights two U-Tube films of Neil Titley’s Wilde performance.

The first is of a costume rehearsal of the theatre show of ‘Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes’ in 1984.

The second is called ‘Introducing Mr Wilde’ and contains the talk about Wilde including much of ‘Work is the Curse’. This was filmed in 2015 at a very distinctive show venue, namely the farmyard attached to a vineyard in rural Uruguay. It was a difficult place to play and the result mirrors this. It may be of some amusement however.

 

THE OSCAR WILDE WORLD OF GOSSIP

This page is an introductory extract from Neil Titley’s book of the same name subtitled:

A Subversive Encyclopaedia of Victorian Anecdote’.

The book is a hilarious collection of comic pen-portraits of Wilde’s 300 friends and enemies, linked by brief notes on his classic life story. They include an international cast of theatricals, revolutionaries, barristers, prostitutes, American frontiersmen, politicians, mystics, writers, soldiers, pornographers, diplomats, adventurers, and confidence tricksters. Simultaneously a ‘dip-in’ reference book and a continuous narrative, it is an exuberant compendium of malicious rumour, salacious detail, and backstabbing one-liners. It is also the funniest book ever written about the Age of Wilde.” (The book blurb – and reasonably honest as well.)

 

‘THE G.B. SHAW PAPERS’

A further major addition to the site concerns the life and work of Wilde’s great contemporary and countryman, George Bernard Shaw. It consists of a TV film of Neil Titley’s play ‘Shaw’s Corner’ (starring Dermot Walsh), together with both an extended and an abridged version of the script – plus three major essays covering Shaw’s views on his life, his economic theory, and his music criticism – plus a collection of GBS’s quotes. It is a treasure trove of Shavian material. It is NOW fully illustrated with photographs of Shaw’s Corner, Ayot St Lawrence village, and the Brocket Arms pub.

 

Future pages will contain other plays by Neil Titley – mainly monologues on Brendan Behan, Oliver St John Gogarty, Mrs Patrick Campbell, Dylan Thomas, Flann O’Brien, and the Comte de Gramont.

 

‘UNDER KEN WOOD’

Neil Titley’s affectionate and funny account of the life and death of a London pub – the Magdala Tavern. [First appeared on the website ‘Friends of the Magdala’.]

 

Thanks as ever to Jason Bevan for his expertise and patience in over-seeing this website.

‘INTRODUCING MR OSCAR WILDE’

Neil Titley has been involved for over 35 years in writing, acting, and directing solo shows, in particular his well-known performance as Oscar Wilde.

This show has been performed in hundreds of venues across the world, including the USA, India, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, Bahrain, Ethiopia and most recently, in 2017, Canada.

He also published a book on Wilde called ‘The Oscar Wilde World of Gossip’, and his play on GB Shaw ‘Shaw’s Corner’ was televised in over 20 countries.

A version of his Wilde play, under franchise to the American actor Johnson Flucker, won the award as ‘Best Period Piece’ at the prestigious United Solo Theatre Festival in New York in 2015.

Although his own theatre show has now ended, Titley still performs a version of the script in a ‘Dramatized Reading’.

This consists of an introduction, the monologue itself, some comic descriptions of life on the theatrical road, and a ‘Question/Answer’ session. (It lasts very roughly for an hour.)

The talk can be given in virtually any performance space and needs no special production other than a lapel microphone (if necessary).

If you are interested, please contact through the channels below and we will be delighted to receive your communication and advise you on further details.

E-mail: neiljtitley@hotmail.com

Website:   www.wildetheatre.co.uk. or google ‘Oscar Wilde Neil Titley’

Neil J Titley

CIDER WITH BOSIE

POSTED ON

2017

June 6: Introduction to ‘Cider with Bosie’

June 6: 1st PRAGUE  The Nuns and the Russian Army

June 13: 2nd Prague Svejk and the Prostitutes

June 20: 3rd Prague  A Very Guided Tour

June 27: 4th Prague Capitalism and Hangovers

July 4: 1st BAHRAIN  Rebellions and Camels

July 11: 2nd Bahrain  Arabian Rotary

July 18: 3rd Bahrain Deserts and Dancers

July 25: 4th Bahrain The Souk and Some Trouble

Aug 1: 1st Jordan El Glubb and More Trouble

Aug 8: 2nd Jordan Luxury and Bagpipes

Aug 15: 1st BRITANNIA A Stoker in New York

Aug 22: 2nd Britannia The King of Spain

Aug 29: 3rd Britannia Meeting and Greeting

Sept 5:  1st N. Carolina Stranded in Arcadia

Sept 12: 2nd N.Carolina Defending Yurp

Sept 19: 3rd N. Carolina An Amplified Disaster

Sept 26: 1st HONG KONG Morgues and Dragons

Oct 3: 2nd Hong Kong The Eric Clapton Buddha

Oct 10: 3rd Hong Kong Drink and Retribution

Oct 17: 4th Hong Kong Feminism and Topless Darts

Oct 24: 5th Hong Kong Macau and the Red Border

Oct 31: 6th Hong Kong Scholastic Subversion

Nov 7: GERMANY Grey Pride in Hamburg

Nov 14: ITALY Lake Maggie O’Reilly

 Nov 21: 1st BOSTON, USA Declaring My ….. Salami

Nov 28: 2nd Boston, USA Troy Meets Cheech

Dec 5: 3rd Boston, USA Oscar Plays Walden Pond

Dec 12: 1st ICELAND Gods and Geysers

Dec 19: 2nd Iceland Lost in the Lava

Dec 26: ANTIBES A Stage-Struck Cat

2018

Jan 2: 1st HOLLAND Dykes and Bikes

Jan 9: 2nd Holland The Dutch Alps

Jan 16: 1st INDIA Polo and the Princess

Jan 23: 2nd India Blowing the Kharma

Jan 30: 3rd India Cometh the Media

Feb 6: 4th India The Trunk Road

Feb 13: 5th India On the (Taj) Road

Feb 20: 6th India Fighting the Monkey Menace

Feb 27: 7th India The Church at Scandal Point

Mar 6: 1st CALIFORNIA Proper Tea in the Sierras

Mar 1: 2nd California Cannibals and Gun Laws

Mar 20: 3rd California Hotel California

Mar 27: 1st ETHIOPIA Hire Taxi, Hire Shotgun

Apr 3: 2nd Ethiopia The Karamara Club

Apr 10: 3rd Ethiopia The Cross and the Umbrella

Apr 17: 4th Ethiopia The Laureate of Ethiopia

Apr 24: 5th Ethiopia Meeting the Mahdi

May 1: 6th Ethiopia Shoe-Shining

May 8: 1st DIXIE 1st Charleston South of Broad

May 15: 2nd Dixie. 2nd Charleston ‘His Foot Too Short’

May 22: 3rd Dixie. Richmond The Dictator of London

May 29: 4th Dixie. Columbia Arrival of the Lord

June 5: 5th Dixie. Salisbury The Vale of Humility

June 12: 6th Dixie. Chattanooga The Choo Choo Town

June 19: 7th Dixie. Birmingham Bishop Parsley

June 26: 8th Dixie. Montgomery When Gatsby Met Daisy

July 3: 9th Dixie. Sewanee The Tennessee Balliol

July 10: 10th Dixie. Atlanta Frankly, My Dear

July 17: 1st ZIMBABWE The Lost Tribe of Surrey 

July 24: 2nd Zimbabwe Black Mambas and Other Guests

July 31: 3rd Zimbabwe The Colossus of Roedean

Aug 7: 4th Zimbabwe The Banning of Fred Selous

Aug 14: 5th Zimbabwe Last Night in Bulawayo

Aug 21: 6th Zimbabwe Visiting the British Council

Aug 28: 7th Zimbabwe The Servant Problem

Sept 4: 8th Zimbabwe Mugabe’s Revenge

Sept 11:  9th Zimbabwe The Nightmare Review

Sept 18: 1st BELIZE Tyrone and the Grand Master

Sept 25: 2nd Belize Bad Reviews and Crocodiles

Oct 2: 3rd Belize/Mexico Spaghetti Westerns and Trotsky

Oct 9: 1st URUGUAY Five Monuments and a Horse Trough

Oct 16: 2nd Uruguay The White Minstrel Show

Oct 23: 3rd Uruguay/Argentina Last Tango in Harrods

Oct 30: 4th Uruguay Rodney and the Hecklers

Nov 6: 5th Uruguay Rock Cake at the Embassy

Nov 13: 1st CANADA A Three Dog Night and a Fun P.M.

Nov 20: 2nd Canada Oscar’s Canadian Friends

Nov 27: 3rd Canada The Battle of Niagara

Dec 4: 4th Canada Wilde on Wheels

Dec 11: 5th Canada The Prairie Troubadour

Dec 18: 6th Canada Crowfoot’s Condition

Dec 25: 7th Canada Gassy Jack and a Gentle Thrill

2019

Jan 1: 8th Canada Stopping by Woods

Jan 8: 1st IRELAND 1st London A Lunatic Bet

Jan 15: 2nd Ireland. 2nd London Getting Sorted

Jan 22: 3rd Ireland. 1st Letterkenny Taking the Derry Air

Jan 29: 4th Ireland. 2nd Letterkenny Mascara in Ulster

Feb 5: 5th Ireland. Donegal Donegal Danny Boy

Feb 12: 6th Ireland. 1st Westport Pooh Sticks and St Patrick

Feb 19: 7th Ireland. 2nd Westport The Co Mayo Football Flag

Feb 26: 8th Ireland. Ballina The Moonlight and the Horse

Mar 5: 9th Ireland. Galway Hangover Central

Mar 12: 10th Ireland. Aran Islands On a Western Shore

Mar 19: 11th Ireland. 1st Listowel From Clare to There

Mar 26: 12th Ireland. 2nd Listowel Meeting a Legend

Apr 2: 13th Ireland. Dingle Boozers’ Pockets

Apr 9: 14th Ireland. 1st Killorglin When the Rains Came

Apr 16: 15th Ireland. 2nd Killorglin Enter Cliff Richard

Apr 23: 16th Ireland. Skibbereen Goodnight Irene

Apr 30: 17th Ireland. 1st Crosshaven Andrea and the Yeats Room

May 7: 18th Ireland. 2nd Crosshaven Tea and Symphony

May 14: 19th Ireland. 1st Dungarvan Miss Haversham and Smike

May 21: 20th Ireland. 2nd Dungarvan The Fishing Party

May 28: 21st Ireland. Waterford The Hostel from Hell

June 4: 22nd Ireland. 1st Wexford Perfect Moment

June 11: 23rd Ireland. 2nd Wexford Double O Moore

June 18: 24th Ireland. Enniscorthy A Fleadh Survivor

June 25: 25th Ireland. Gorey War with the Orphans

July 2: 26th Ireland. Wicklow Driving the Taoiseach

July 9: 27th Ireland. 1st Glendalough Saints and Sadism

July 16: 28th Ireland. 2nd Glendalough Wilde’s Socks

July 23: 29th Ireland. Moyvally Happy Daze

July 30: 30th Ireland. 1st Dublin My Dinner with Anecdote

Aug 6: 31st Ireland. 2nd Dublin The Fag on the Crag

Aug 13: 32nd Ireland. 3rd Dublin Slainte!