Eryn Jean Norvill's one-woman tour-de-force has played to standing ovations every night in Sydney and Adelaide, and will premiere in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Artistic Director Kip Williams never imagined the play would tour internationally while he was adapting the classic novel during COVID-19 lockdowns.
"There was something about having had this period where we hadn't been able to do what we love to do, that made us all come together and say we want to make something bigger and bolder and more exciting than we'd ever done before," Mr Williams told AAP.
Oscar Wilde's moral tale follows a young man wishing for eternal youth, who lives a life of meaningless luxury while a hidden portrait of him reveals that he is truly ugly.
Ms Norvill plays 26 different characters during the two-hour epic, with five camera operators following her every move, and 15 more crewmembers supporting her high-wire act on and off stage.
Pre-recorded and live vision interplays with Ms Norvill's live performance, and designer Marg Horwell said the show takes just as much from cinema, photography, and even reality television, as it does from stage traditions.
"It's actually less influenced by theatre and more by what we're seeing in the world at the moment, especially on our computers and in lockdown," Ms Horwell told AAP.
Ms Norvill's challenge each night is immense, with more than 200 marks onstage she must hit with pinpoint precision for the filmic elements of the show to succeed.
Sometimes things do go "slightly haywire", Mr Williams said, but Ms Norvill brings the crowd along for the ride.
"If anything, it makes it more exciting for the audience because they're in on the journey of making this extraordinarily ambitious thing happen every night," he said.
One of the most impressive parts of the show, according to Mr Williams, is the curtain call, when the whole crew joins Ms Norvill onstage, revealing the army that has brought the show to life.
With the coronavirus a constant worry for the cast and crew of every show playing at the moment, Dorian Gray has been blessed by the theatre gods, with Ms Norvill and backup actress Nikki Shiels so far unaffected, Mr Williams said.
The Picture Of Dorian Gray is at the Playhouse at the Arts Centre in Melbourne until July 31 as part of the Rising festival.
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