Maxim Didenko’s Salome: Wilde’s banned play returns to the West End
Oscar Wilde’s Salome was banned in Britain for its daring portrayal of biblical figures and raw eroticism. Now, Didenko’s visceral new production — co-produced with Israel’s Gesher Theatre — brings the play back to London, exploring power, desire and forbidden longing with brutal intensity.
It was banned before it could be staged. Oscar Wilde’s Salome, written in 1891, never stood a chance under the moral codes of Victorian Britain. A one-act tale of lust, prophecy and revenge, it fell foul of the Lord Chamberlain’s rule against depicting biblical characters on stage — but that wasn’t the whole story.
Wilde’s text pulsed with eroticism and psychological tension. Its central figure, Salome, was neither passive nor penitent; she was powerful, insatiable and ultimately lethal. That a young woman could desire — and destroy — a male prophet for refusing her advances was more than enough to see the play silenced. It would not reach a British stage until 1931.
Now, Salome returns to London in a new production by Russian director Maxim Didenko, in collaboration with Gesher Theatre, one of Israel’s most acclaimed companies. The production opens at Theatre Royal Haymarket on 30 September, running for a limited two-week season — and marking Didenko’s West End debut.
It follows his recent London work at the Marylebone Theatre, where he directed The White Factory — which won Best Production at the 2024 Off West End Awards — and The Last Word, both noted for their stark visual language and political charge.
Gesher Theatre, based in Jaffa, was founded in the early 1990s by Russian-speaking immigrant artists. Its name means “bridge” in Hebrew, and its work has consistently lived up to that metaphor — navigating language, faith, politics and cultural memory.
It is no stranger to sacred or fraught material. Over the decades, Gesher has staged interpretations of Jewish folklore, biblical stories and philosophical texts, all threaded with bold theatricality and emotional risk. That makes Salome a natural fit. This production also marks Gesher Theatre’s return to the UK after more than two decades, following its last major appearance at the Barbican in 1999.
In Salome, Didenko collaborates again with Ekaterina Kashyntseva, his wife and producer on several of his London productions, alongside designer Galya Solodovnikova (winner of the 2024 Off West End Award), composer Louis Lebe, and lighting designer Gleb Filshtinsky.
The cast features Doron Tavori as Herod, Lena Fraifeld as Herodias, and Neta Roth in the title role, alongside an ensemble drawn from Gesher Theatre’s core company.
Tickets from £25.
Oscar Wilde’s Salome
Directed by Maxim Didenko
30 September – 11 October 2025
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
Click here to book tickets: https://ticketing.trh.co.uk/event/37312?date=2025-09
Elena Leo is the Arts & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
