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His opening parlay is to immediately question Ken about a painting he is working on. What do you see? Answer: Red. Do you like it? Narcissist Rothko then proceeds to tear down whatever Ken says. He is simply dismissive of the latter, who has a troubling back story. And Rothko never enquires about Ken\u2019s personal life.<\/p>\n
What Rothko does do is regularly orally and, even, physically accost his prot\u00e9g\u00e9, himself a painter, eager to learn from \u201cthe great man\u201d. Rothko works only in his studio, in which all the windows are covered, saying the light is never right outdoors. Most of the time he isn\u2019t painting but reflecting \u2026 contemplating his work. He maintains that most painting is \u201cthinking\u201d and \u201canticipating\u201d. Rothko\u2019s greatest fear is that \u201cone day the black will swallow the red\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Ken discovers that despite Rothko talking the talk, channelling the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso and Michaelangelo, to name but three, he has sold his soul. For the princely sum of $35,000, Rothko has been engaged to paint a series of murals in a ritzy new restaurant that is about to open on Park Avenue, New York City. As the play develops, so too does Ken\u2019s voice. He is no longer afraid to call out Rothko. And, after Rothko pays a visit to the upmarket eatery, matters come to a head.<\/p>\n
Premiering in London in 2009, American playwright John Logan has written a masterful piece. The subsequent Broadway production in 2010 won six Tony Awards, including Best Play. I put it to you that you can\u2019t but help be mightily impressed by what Little Life Productions & Company 16 have done with RED, under director Ian Sinclair.<\/p>\n
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Dylan Smith and Jordan Briggs put their bodies and souls into the work. In particular, Smith\u2019s physicality is so attractive \u2026 and, I should quickly add, deliberately repulsive. He is simply awesome \u2026 and frightening. He soars and you dare not look away for a second. I also appreciated Briggs\u2019 transitioning of Ken, who metaphorically grows wings in the two years he \u201cputs up\u201d with Smith constantly tearing into him. The juxtaposition from wide eyed newbie to \u201cold hand\u201d is striking.<\/p>\n
Also noteworthy is the intimate setting that Sinclair has brought to bear in this work at the expansive fortyfivedownstairs. The seating has been arranged so no patron is more than a few metres away from the action, such that I felt I was intimately involved in the goings on. It is a brilliant touch.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
As far as the set itself is concerned, set and costume designer Bianco Pardo has crafted an evocative beauty, which \u201chits you\u201d the moment you enter the theatre. At a distance, a cluttered large, solid long table, with a series of steel buckets at the foot. Alongside it, a record player. On the floor a drop sheet, in front of which sits a lone green wooden deck chair. In the foreground a wooden trolley with more paint paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
Natalia Velasco Moreno\u2019s lighting design is a real mood setter, varying from dimly lit to fully exposed, the latter catching me by surprise. Accompanied by a few soaring, dramatic \u201cinterludes\u201d and a couple of uplifting classical stings, RED is an exhilarating, emotional trainwreck. It is theatre at its finest \u2013 capturing our attention from the get go and holding us in a choke hold for 90 minutes without interval. Do not miss it.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
RED is on at fortyfivedownstairs until 30th November, 2025.<\/p>\n
Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Intense. Visceral. Passionate. Angry. Confronting. My instant reaction to a remarkable two-man show about art and what it means. It is the late 1950s. A master painter lets loose \u2013 doesn\u2019t hold back \u2013 in \u201cschooling\u201d his assistant. In short, it is verbal diatribe of biblical proportions. Ken (Jordan Briggs) is like the cat that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":168072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[3,11398,412,11400,11399,9583],"class_list":["post-168070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-drama","tag-dylan-smith","tag-fortyfivedownstairs","tag-ian-sinclair","tag-jordan-briggs","tag-red"],"yoast_head":"\n