Sarah Snook clarified the matter: her last name is “Snuke”, not “Snook”, as in book or took).
This spring on Broadway, she is not Snuke or Snook but 26 different people. The 37-year old Australian performs a chameleon role in Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by changing accents and genders. She tells the story of an eternally young man who bargains with God to look that way. His portrait reflects his hideous actions.
The show is full of suspense, humor, horror and heart. “People don’t often give Oscar Wilde credit for something heartfelt,” said I.
Snook stated, “Yeah he is a man of great pathos.” “I think that there is a lot more empathy for the human situation – you know, I think, you see the soul as something real and as an important part of the body, personality and spiritual makeup of a person, which one may need to protect.”
Snook was awarded an Olivier Award (the British Theater Award) for his performance in the West End of London.
Oscar Wilde released the story in 1890 (his one novel). Victorian critics described it as “poisonous,” and “morally corrupt.” The tale still resonates today, nearly a century and a half later. Snook noted that it is a good time to revisit this tale, as “we have an image-based society and the ability to create a visual to sell online to anyone, on Instagram.” It’s important to choose the mask you want to wear, the one that represents your public or private self.
Snook, who made her name abroad, is now loved by American audiences for the role of Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, the brutal billionaire she portrayed as the scion a family’s empire in the TV show “Succession.” Snook’s Shiv has won her a legion of fans and many awards.
Snook originally didn’t want audition for Shiv, because she said she couldn’t relate with her being beautiful and rich. She said, “Yeah…there was nothing about me that I could relate to as a character that is, like, accessible or reflective.”
Shiv, like Dorian Gray is an antihero. Snook has been fascinated by these complex characters since childhood: “I watched tons of Disney movies as a child, and I only wanted to be Ursula, Scar, or any other villains. I liked people with more depth than their initial appearance.
Snook learned about this complexity during her first acting job back in Adelaide. “I used do fairy parties.” It was a great training ground because kids will tell you straight away if they are not interested.
Has she been heckled? “Yeah. Like, ‘Fly! Lemme see you fly! Come on! Why can’t I fly? “Show us!”
Kip Williams, director and adapter of “Dorian Gray”, arrived at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney just the year after Snook left. Sarah was on his radar from the start because of a rumor that was spreading around school about this red-headed actress.
Williams was certain that Snook would be the perfect collaborator, as he felt that only one actor could capture all of Wilde’s facets. Williams explained that Oscar Wilde talked about the idea that life was a grand performance and that everyone is always performing, revealing or hiding parts of themselves. Williams said that the piece’s form – a single performer portraying all 26 characters – is an expression to this idea.
Williams’s illumination of humanity is a result of technology. Williams calls it “cine theater” – live performances combined with cameras, big screens, and recorded videos.
Is it fair to say that this is a solo show? Williams stated that it was a “definitely a one-person performance”, but paradoxically it is an ensemble piece. Her co-performers are the camera crew and team. They danced with her on the stage, literally for one moment.”
Snook is familiar with a dance: “The feeling that a camera was close by and didn’t disrupt my train of thought, or my flow, that’s what I think was really helpful in ‘Succession’ because we kind of absorbed the extra characters as part of the scene,” said Snook.
Snook’s life is not without its own characters. She married during the pandemic, and she has a daughter. Sarah Snook, it turns out has or taken on more than she can handle.
This is your Broadway debut. Has the pressure been lifted since you have already enjoyed such a successful run? I asked.
Snook responded, “Actually one thing Kip said at the first rehearsal was, ‘You only can eat an Elephant one spoonful at time.’ ‘Yeah, sure. Okay. “I’ll do it this way.
You think you have eaten it all?
“No, I have to eat the Broadway portion of the elephant now!” Snook laughed.
To watch a trailer for “The Picture of Dorian Gray” click on the video player below:
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Julie Kracov is the author. Editor: Lauren Barnello.
