Alexander Vlahos records new Dorian Gray audio drama for Big Finish – and it's free!
The story was recorded entirely in self-isolation and produced in just four days.
Alexander Vlahos has returned to his popular role of Dorian Gray for a new Big Finish audio drama recorded and produced entirely in self-isolation.
Vlahos originally played Dorian in a series of stories inspired by Oscar Wilde's classic 1890 story and released by Big Finish between 2012 and 2016 (with a special release in 2019).
Now, the Merlin and Versailles actor has returned to the part once more for an 18-minute story produced entirely using remote recording techniques and produced from start to finish in just four days.
And as if the return of Dorian weren't good enough news, the new drama – The Confessions of Dorian Gray: Isolation – is available to download from the Big Finish website right now, completely free of charge.
The idea for the short was conceived by writer/director Scott Handcock, who said: "The lovely thing about Dorian Gray is that Alex and I have always been on the same page. We both came to the decision to end it at the same time, and almost simultaneously came to the same thought about bringing him back somehow as a little one-off diversion from these strange times.
"So I wrote a script, Alex recorded at home, I did some digital painting for the cover artwork, and Rob Harvey joined in to give it an FX pass and some glorious music. It’s been lovely to reconnect with such generous people, giving up their time; and although Dorian isn’t returning for good, we hope this will prove a welcome reunion for listeners!"
Actor/director Vlahos added: "Obviously the world is going through a massive pandemic and is quite scary and there’s a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of creative people are coming together to cheer people up. And within the space of four days, we’ve created an 18-minute Dorian Gray episode for people - which is brilliant!"
Nicholas Briggs, executive producer for Big Finish, said: "Scott Handcock and Alex Vlahos’s enthusiasm for the Dorian Gray series has always been a beautiful thing to behold. The two of them just spontaneously did this, and we were thrilled to get on board with it! Enjoy!"
Big Finish recently announced that it would be temporarily suspending studio sessions to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, though the company is still in active production using remote recording. It has also postponed its annual Big Finish Day event and will be adopting a 'digital-first' strategy with a delay to physical releases in order to safeguard the health of warehouse workers.
The Confessions of Dorian Gray: Isolation is available now from Big Finish
Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
