My overall impression
Picasso’s Women Fringe Festival Review
Picasso’s Women is a fascinating and captivating exploration of the many women who came in and out of Picasso’s life. Although more importantly of the women themselves and how there interactions with Picasso, whether briefly and for an extended period, shaped the rest of their lives.
Picasso once said “To create you must destroy”. I suspect this was a sentiment that he carried throughout his life both into his art and his relationships. He was a great artist and a man of many appetites and never seemed to regret the affects his actions had on others. This is the story of the others, Picasso’s Women.
The play centers on four of those women Francois Gilot, Fernande Olivier, Dora Marr, and Olga Kogclova.
Francois Gilot is played intellectually by Marianne Bourg. She is the orchestrater of the gathering of women with a plan to write a book about Picasso with the help of these other women. Unbeknownst to them however, as many of them harbor strong feelings of distaste for each other, if not all out hatred in some cases.
Fernande Olivier is played subtlety and raw by Ewa Kozak. Ewa delivers a powerful and emotionally charged performance. Fernande loved Picasso before he was Picasso and also is the oldest of the Women. Ewa has a sense of history and handles the age of the character with grace and humility.
Mariana Novakovich plays the deeply wounded Dora Marr. She carries the pain with her in every expression and word she delivers. Dora brings the harsh reality of Picasso’s arrogance and sick fantasy. Although not much fantasy as is revealed throughout he play.
Nadia Kiyatkina plays the bitter Russian first wife of Picasso, Olga Khokhlova. She is an angry, bitter, and arrogant woman and handles Picasso’s mistreatment the worst of the bunch. Nadia accepts the negativity of the character and with humor and pride shows her humanity.
Marie-Terese is played by Liana Bassior with sarcasm and naïveté. She is the destroy and relishes in the pain and discomfort but is also the perfect hypocrite as she cannot take what she dishes out.
Picasso is represented by two men in a very interesting dichotomy of age by Walter Perez and Russ Andrade.
Paul Eluard is played by Robert Alter who brings a wonderful Shakespearean quality particularly when he delivers a poem after the death of his lover.
Jagueline Rogue is played by Anna McNiven and represents briefly in the end Picasso’s second and last wife. Although vilified by all around her we see her at her most sensitive and vulnerable in her final moments.
The waitress played by Brooke Clenden is scarce through out the play but pops up occasionally to through in some humor of her own and contributes wonderfully to the rest of the ensemble.
The hostility of these women is poignant, as they share there love and hate for Picasso and each other, through Drama, Humor, Memory, Poetry, Monologues and Music. You will leave the theatre transfixed and touched deep
