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Post by hannechalk on Aug 8, 2024 20:10:55 GMT
Performances 3 to 8 September 2024 Vincent died in 1890, John died in 1980, both of gunshot wounds to the chest. But imagine what might have happened, had the two greatest artists of their time, met? Vincent van Gogh was a nineteenth-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. John Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who gained worldwide fame with The Beatles. Around five years before their deaths both men went through profound change. Vincent van Gogh finally renounced his religious ambitions and began to paint in earnest, and despite great arguments with antagonist Paul Gaugin created his life’s great masterworks. John Lennon renounced sex, drugs and rock & roll and began five years seclusion as a family unit, and despite great arguments with antagonist Paul McCartney created a son, and what would be his last album. With the clock ticking and with each man straining for something, is there a way forward for either of these two passionate, unpredictable, temperamental and volatile artists? This play takes place at their exact moment of crisis and decision, exploring love, death, art and legacy. theotherpalace.co.uk/when-vincent-met-john/
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Post by hannechalk on Aug 8, 2024 20:14:20 GMT
A bit of promotion for a play I was told the concept of when it was still just a glint in the writer's eye, and it's coming to The Other Palace Studio.
Hoping to catch it on the tour it's on, it has had some good reviews.
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3,557 posts
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Post by showgirl on Aug 9, 2024 2:51:02 GMT
Also at another Palace theatre (Watford), which has been advertising it for months. So if I see this, it will be there rather than in London, but I already have so much theatre booked in the autumn that I need, even more than usual, to wait for the reviews.
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4,171 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 9, 2024 17:00:25 GMT
Correct me if I'm wrong- and I very well could be- I seem to recall watch a documentary about Vincent Van Gough where they explained that he suffered from some mental health issues (thus the chopping off of his ear) including depression and, by today's standards- bi-polar.
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Post by hannechalk on Aug 9, 2024 19:21:17 GMT
Correct me if I'm wrong- and I very well could be- I seem to recall watch a documentary about Vincent Van Gough where they explained that he suffered from some mental health issues (thus the chopping off of his ear) including depression and, by today's standards- bi-polar. I also read somewhere that by today's standards he would indeed probably be diagnosed as bipolar.
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Post by kallyloo on Aug 13, 2024 11:24:31 GMT
I believe there’s a QI episode where Stephen Fry explains that Van Gough had quite a few illnesses. One of which causes the vision to actually see swirls and another which causes things to look more yellow.
I’m absolutely in awe that alongside his mental and physical problems he created amazing beauty from within the depths of his suffering.
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Post by hannechalk on Aug 14, 2024 19:04:06 GMT
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Post by hannechalk on Aug 19, 2024 17:59:34 GMT
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1,475 posts
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Post by Steve on Sept 3, 2024 21:33:17 GMT
Saw this tonight and really liked it. Some spoilers follow. . Murray Andrews is obsessional, open, perfectionist, fascinating and loveable as Vincent, and you can't take your eyes off him, so brilliantly does the actor disappear into his part. The playwright gives himself the role of Lennon, who is depressed, defensive, arrogant, insulting and an all round pain in the arse, and unpleasant to spend time with (he refers to Van Gogh as "Adolf," for example). I hope Van Gogh was like this, as I feel I've met him. I hope Lennon wasn't like this, but I suspect he was, at least in this part of his life, as the depiction feels authentic. In terms of what they have to say, what Van Gogh has to say about life and art is always interesting, and it's great seeing Lennon bounce off Van Gogh's ruminations. What Lennon has to say, by contrast, is only interesting part of the time because his relentless scornful doubts about Van Gogh being "the" Van Gogh, while convincing as an account of someone dealing with something unbelievable, don't actually tell us anything. The play ran for 1 hour 25 minutes without an interval, and I felt like I had met two great artists, one of whom I would love to meet again and one I wouldn't. It's sad to realise, as the play suggests, that in their respective lifetimes, one of Lennon's stickman doodles was more valued than one of Van Gogh's oil paintings. A worthwhile 3 and a half stars from me.
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