‘De Profundis’ at the Coronet Theatre: Jens Harzer brings Oscar Wilde in a Berliner Ensemble monodrama

The Berliner Ensemble returns to London’s Coronet Theatre with “De Profundis,” a monodrama dedicated to Oscar Wilde’s last letter, written in Reading prison between January and March 1897. As BroadwayWorld announces, directed by Oliver Reese, actor Jens Harzer takes the role of Wilde in a production performed in German, with English surtitles.

Critics rate the performance as a career peak: Harzer brings to the stage a man destroyed, but undefeated — broken by the public, but who survives. Enclosed in a thin, tall box with white walls, conceived by Hansjörg Hartung, the actor develops a strangely physical and intense performance, where rage over Bosie’s betrayal coexists with complete devotion to him.

“De Profundis,” the 50,000-word letter addressed to his former lover Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, is one of Wilde’s most touching writings — an attempt to turn personal tragedy into art. According to critics, Reese has filled the production with heartache, while Steffen Heinke’s lighting and Jörg Gollasch’s music add tension in a stage approach described as “distinctly European.”

“De Profundis” runs at the Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill until 7 October 2026.