A Montage of Monet

Greenside @ George Street – Mint Studio

Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)

Monet’s paintings are world famous. We all know his water lilies, but how much do we know of the man? This new play explores his life and loves: his two marriages, the devastating death of his first wife, followed by the erratic behaviour of his lover and the desperation prompting his suicide attempt. We become privy to his thoughts on fellow impressionists and how he coped with his failing eyesight, which tormented him. It could have stopped him painting… or did it? This one-man montage of his life will be performed by award-winning actor Stephen Smith.

Review

Monet, we all know him for his most famous painting showing waterlilies. A Montage of Monet begins in 1923 and he is old, unwell with failing eye-sight. Stephen Smith takes the audience through a history of art, his art and the connections he had with other artists and their styles through the ages, such as Manet, Turner, Constable and more to the point where Impressionism was born.

Stephen Smith had good charisma and knowledge about his subject and sounded convincing. You could hear a pin drop in the room. The storytelling was enthralling in style and fascinating in depth as we learnt about his private life too, the good times and the harder times. His life story is one of rags to riches and acknowledging those who helped him and befriended him along the way.