A TOURING performance based on the trials and tribulations of legendary playwright, Oscar Wilde, is coming to Parr Library next Friday.

A performance of Oscar Wilde’s heart rending love poem De Profundis, will be shown at the library on Friday, June 30, in a dramatisation called Wilde Without the Boy and The Ballard of Reading Gaol, directed by Gareth Armstrong with music from Simon Slater.

Wilde penned the poem in 1897 to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, from his cell in Reading Gaol during his imprisonment for 'acts of gross indecency with other males' - which was a criminal offence at the time.

The Ballad Of Reading, reflects on his two years’ hard labour, and a fellow inmate’s hanging and an unflinching portrayal of the Victorian penal system, particularly the death penalty.

Its regular rhythms also recall the repetitive harshness of prison life experienced by Wilde and all inmates.

Painfully brilliant and passionate, Wilde Without the Boy and The Ballard of Reading Gaol is a glimpse into the bruised, loving soul of one of the greatest geniuses ever to have lived.

The performance will take place at Parr Library at 7pm as part of St Helens Libraries' Cultural Hubs Arts In Libraries Programme, funded by National Lottery money distributed through Arts Council England.

The show is suitable for ages13 and above and tickets cost £6, £5 for library card holders and £3 for concessions and can be purchased online at culturalhubs.eventbrite.co.uk or at any library in St Helens.