Director Maxim Didenko talks upcoming new West End production of ‘Salomé’: “The way to honour Wilde is by not preserving but by reimagining”

Following its world premiere at Tel Aviv’s Jaffa Fest last year, Gersher Theatre’s reinterpretation of Oscar Wilde’s most controversial play arrives in the West End for an extremely limited run — also marking the company’s first-ever return to the UK since their 1999 Barbican performance. Guillermo Nazara chats with the man behind the vision to discuss why this latest revival of the infamous enchantress is worth losing one’s head over.

How does it feel to be bringing this new version of Wilde’s play to the West End scene?

It’s thrilling and humbling. Wilde belongs to London, yet Salomé has rarely been staged here. To bring it back in such a bold, contemporary form feels like both a homecoming and a provocation.

The production will be running at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, the same venue that hosted the world premiere of two of Wilde’s plays. Do you feel any additional responsibility in that regard?

Absolutely. There’s a weight of history in that theatre, and you feel Wilde’s presence in its walls. At the same time, responsibility also means daring to take risks. I believe the best way to honour him is not by preserving but by reimagining.

The play sparked a lot of controversy during its inception, not only because Britain banned depictions of biblical characters onstage, but due to its obscure themes. Do you think this work still has the power to provoke audiences nowadays?

Yes—because it refuses to be safe. It mixes religion, desire, and death in ways that still unsettle us. The questions it asks about power, obsession, and the danger of unchecked desire are as urgent now as they were in Wilde’s time.

What’s new in this version of Salomé in comparison to other previous incarnations?

We start from a place of raw physicality and improvisation. The Israeli actors bring wildness, fearlessness, and passion that make this production unpredictable and alive. Visually, it’s highly stylised, almost dream-cinematic, where every image feels like both a ritual and a hallucination.

What’s been your process to create this version of the role?

The first rehearsal was already a full improvised run of the entire play—no reading, no pauses. That instinctive approach shaped everything that followed. The performers built the character of Salomé not from theory, but from lived physical impulses.

Have you taken inspiration from any past performances?

I prefer not to. I always return to the text and ask how it speaks today. Of course, I know the history of its productions, but the energy of this one comes from our own context and the actors in the room.

Have you found any particular challenges?

The challenge was to hold together Wilde’s lush, decadent poetry with the brutal violence at the heart of the story. Keeping beauty and horror in the same space is never easy—but it’s exactly why the play still matters.

What do you think Oscar Wilde would say if he attended this production?

I hope he would be shocked—and delighted. Wilde loved provocation, and I think he would recognise the courage of these actors and the visual daring of this staging.

Why come see Salomé?

Because it’s not a safe evening—it’s intoxicating, dangerous, and alive. It will make you question power, desire, and obsession, and it will do so in a way that only theatre can: visceral, beautiful, and unforgettable.

Production pictures credit to Isaiah Fainberg and Alexander Khanin.

Salome plays at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket link.

By Guillermo Nazara