(Left to right) Dean Engle, Gary Mutz and Phoebe Jones rehearse for the biographical play “Man of Letters” about esteemed playwright Oscar Wilde. B* Theatre’s production will be performed through Feb. 25. (Photo courtesy of Maureen- Theresa Williams)

B8 Theatre Company is back, and they’ve kicked off their 2017-2018 season with the world premiere of “Man of Letters: A View of Oscar Wilde,” a biographical collage of the words of the late playwright masterfully compiled into a sentimental one-act play by B8 actor and director Alan Cameron.
B8 Theatre, formerly Butterfield 8, has been on hiatus since former artistic director John Butterfield left to further his education and training in New Zealand in 2014. The B8 troupe is temporarily performing in a vacant bank building in downtown Concord, hoping to find a permanent home before the end of the year when that structure is slated for demolition.
The words for “Man of Letters” were taken primarily from Wilde’s personal correspondence. The script is framed within the narration of his children’s story, “The Happy Prince,” written for Wilde’s own child more than a decade before the playwright’s untimely death in 1900. The story seems prophetic in its description of a boy growing up to find that happiness can be an elusive prize.
The production flows with the aid of archival photos of Wilde and period artworks projected onto a rear wall, and corresponding music interspersed as the tale moves forward in time. While the words of the script are beautifully selected and arranged, the visual aspect is quite static. Five players alternate reading from the many letters, poems and other sources with little variation in scenery or lighting except for the succession of projected images on the wall.
(Worth noting: on the night of this writer’s attendance, understudy Melynda Kiring read from a script for the part of Woman 2.)
Elinor Bell reads Wilde’s poetry with remarkable style and grace, and the other readers succeed at bringing the subject’s words to life by their sensitive and polished delivery.
The content of the selected letters reveals the development of a brilliant and gifted writer, inclusive of Wilde’s sarcastic wit along with his greater passion and emerging world view. The work leaves its audience in the end with a pointed condemnation of the society that could not forgive the playwright after he revealed an aspect of himself that they ultimately deemed worthy of utter rejection. Wilde died destitute shortly after his 46th birthday.
“Man of Letters” continues at 2292 Concord Blvd., Concord through Saturday, Feb. 25. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and students, and are available online at brownpapertickets.com or by calling 925-890-8877.

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