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De Profundis at the Lyttelton Theatre

Event: De Profundis at the Lyttelton Theatre
Date: September 22nd until October 1st 2008

Oscar Wilde's poignant letter to his lover, written during his incarceration at Reading Gaol, is a work of genius that continues to move audiences one hundred years later.

"I don't defend my conduct, I explain it," Wilde said of the actions which led up to his prison sentence for gross indecency.

This 50 minute performance of what is often purported to be the greatest love letter written takes place at the Lyttelton Theatre, not far from luxury London hotel the 41, his September.

As part of a special theatre break in London, treat your partner to the Romantic package at the 41 hotel, enjoy the opulent surroundings and a beautiful red rose on arrival before taking time out to see tragically poignant De Profundis.

The tragedy of the story, of course, is that after Wilde had penned the 50,000 word letter - edited down for the Lyttelton Theatre performance by the talented Merlin Holland - his health began to fail and upon his release he lived as a penniless outcast until his death five years later, a lonely end for the man who famously quipped that he had nothing to declare except his genius.

"You came to me to learn the pleasure of life and the pleasure of art. Perhaps I am chosen to teach you something more wonderful – the meaning of sorrow and its beauty," Wilde writes, moving from accusation to passion and reaching peace at the conclusion of the letter.

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