tea with Oscar Wilde

Tags

Actors, afternoon tea, Art Nouveau, Cafe en Seine, Dublin, food, Lord Henry Wotton, Oscar Wilde, photography, photos, quotes, The Picture of Dorian Gray, theater, Wonderland Productions

Yesterday was one of those blustery windy days that just couldn’t quite make up its mind. One moment rays of warm spring sun bathed your face in gold and the next spits of rain forced you indoors. But this meant it was the perfect day for what I had planned: tea with Oscar Wilde.

There is a wonderful cafe/bar in Dublin, called Café en Seine, which is done up in the style of Paris in the 1920s: scantily clad demigods holding up arches, dancing Greek girls balancing lampshades, mirrors galore – faux Art Nouveau at it’s very finest.

It was only suiting that Wonderland Productions chose this Wilde-esque setting to host a very special event: afternoon tea and The Picture of Dorian Gray. As a friend and I were invited to take a seat at a beautifully set table for eight I quickly realised that I would be experiencing this wonderful play up very close and personal, as the actors table was right by my side.

Tea-pot guy brought me pots of my favourite brew, a cup of coffee for my not very Irish  friend and plates laden down with delicious hand-cut sandwiches and petite fours filled our bellies as Wilde’s words fulled our imagination.

As the actors walked about the room engaging in witty banter they created a magical world of mystery, one that all attending where a part of. At times Lord Wotton or Dorian Gray would sit next to me and engage in nonverbal banter – a bat of an eyelid, a small smirk, a flirty raise of the eyebrow or a quizzical gaze.

Plates and cups slowly emptied as the story unfolded, a captive, entranced audience turning in their seats to follow the action throughout the room and when the dead body of Dorian Gray finally stood up for his applause, it was clear we had experienced something unique and very special.

“Some things are more precious because they don’t last long.”

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Liam Hourican as Lord Henry Wotton, Fionn Foley as Dotrian Gray and Jim Roche as Basil Hallward in the Wonderland Production of The Picture of Dorian Gray

time for tea

Tags

afternoon tea, breaks, Henry James, little break, photo, photograpy, quotes, tea, tea time

When I look to my right I see my to-do-list, a stack of paperwork that needs my attention and my notebook filled with pencil scribbles. When I look to mt right I see my tiny backyard that needs my attention, my plants need a little tending too, my bike a bit more air and it needs a bit of tiding up.  But when I look in front of me all I see are letters, words, a screen filled with blank pages and endless possibility, yet I feel a little stuck.

Now we all have our little rituals and habits that we turn towards in these kind of situations. Some get up and go for a walk, others switch on the TV of half an hour or pick up a newspaper or magazine and browse for a while, a third group may opt for a chat with colleagues or on the phone. But for me the perfect thing to do when I  need  a little break is to make a cup of tea.

Just waiting for the kettle to boil and then watching the steam billow up out of my mug while I pour the hot-water onto the teabag, pouring milk into the brew and watch the little clouds of lactose rise to the top, colouring my tea the perfect shade of brown, settles me and helps me gather my thoughts.

So as my mug is empty and I need a little “pick-me-up” I think I’ll step away from my desk for a little while and try and find inspiration in my beverage of choice, create a little time for tea and me.

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. – Henry James