'If equal affection cannot be / Let the more loving one be me'. Auden's famous couplet expresses the dilemma at the heart of David Hare's fascinating exploration of Oscar Wilde's relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. The author speculates on two incidents in Wilde's life of which we know little, in order to present a play whose true subject is not Wilde, but love; not Bosie, but betrayal.

Author Biography

David Hare was born in Sussex in 1947. He is the author of twenty-eight plays for the stage, sixteen of which have been seen at the National Theatre. These plays include Plenty, The Secret Rapture, Skylight, Amy's View, Via Dolorosa, Stuff Happens, Gethsemane and The Power of Yes. In 1993 three plays about the Church, the Law and the Labour Party - Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and The Absence of War - were presented in repertory in the Olivier Theatre. His many screenplays for cinema and television include Licking Hitler, Damage, The Hours and The Reader. He directed his most recent television film, Page Eight, for the BBC.