Listen: New Musical Based on THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY Will Premiere in 2026

A new musical based on the classic 1890 Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray has been announced. Penned by musician and lyricist Mark J. Middlemiss, the show is aiming for a 2026 London production, followed by a UK Tour.

The opening number from the show, 'Every Picture Tells a Story', with vocals by Thomas Hewitt, a current member of the Barricade Boys, is available to stream on all major digital music platforms from 1 July, and a concept album will be released this September.

Listen below!

Darlington based, Mark J. Middlemiss has spent the last 26 years in the entertainment industry and has enjoyed success in the UK and Europe with his jukebox musical productions "One Night in Dublin" and "The BIG Country Music Show". After seven years of touring, he is stepping back to focus on other projects including this original musical. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray has additional musical arrangements by Joe Draper, Paul Worthington and Stuart McLean-Fowler.

The new score is a love letter to the dark, classic, grand, operatic musicals of the 1970s and 1980s.

Middlemiss said “I wanted to write a good old fashioned, sung-through musical with a dark operatic score, a big overture and sweeping orchestrations alongside powerful ensemble vocals. The subject matter in Wilde's novel lends itself so much to being a classic musical and I'm looking forward to the journey of bringing it to the stage".

Dorian Gray is a wealthy and exceptionally handsome young man living in the hedonistic world of upper-class Victorian London. After having his portrait painted, he is mysteriously granted immortality and the portrait ages in his place, preserving his youthful appearance. As he comes to terms with the implications of eternal youth, Dorian descends into a life of indulgence and moral decay, increasingly consumed by vanity and corruption.

Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen, with the most notable film versions including Albert Lewin’s 1945 production, starring George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford and Donna Reed and Oliver Parker’s 2009 adaptation, featuring Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Rebecca Hall. More recently, Sarah Snook has received international acclaim for her performance in Kip Williams’ innovative one-woman, high-tech stage adaptation of the novel.