#Monet – Bookmarks and Stages by Lou

In this new show about Monet, we become privy to his private life, his lovers, and the Impressionist movement of the 19th Century. Discover more below and how to get tickets.

Threedumb Theatre presents A Montage of Monet

Claude Monet lived from 1840-1926 and is often hailed as ‘the Founder of Impressionism’. This brand-new solo show examines the complex inner thoughts of the man behind the paintings. The audience joins an aged Monet in his studio at Giverny. He is suffering from unsuccessful cataract surgery and burdened with a daunting commission to create his – what will be – world-famous Water Lilies. With the innovative inclusion of multi-media projection and sound design, Monet (played by prolific solo show creator, Stephen Smith) takes the audience on a journey through his life. We become privy to his thoughts on fellow impressionists; gain insight on his ground-breaking artistic techniques; absorb an education on the development of the Impressionist movement; and learn controversial and sordid details regarding his private life.

Both Stephen (Performer/Director) and Joan Greening (Playwright) have an artistic background; Stephen being a portrait artist, and Joan an art historian and lecturer. “I am delighted to be working with an award-winning actor, and to be returning to the EdFringe this summer” says playwright Joan, who has presented many new plays at the festival. After meeting Stephen at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, where he played Steve Jobs in Apple of My Eye (Bobby Award-winner), she decided to start writing this new solo show for him. “It’s a new challenge for me” says Stephen, “as the character is not only much older than me, but also another nationality! In the true spirit of impressionism, I am keen to offer an expression of Claude Monet to our EdFringe audiences, which will encourage viewers to delve further into Monet’s influential and revolutionary artwork.”

A Montage of Monet arrives at the Edinburgh Fringe after two preview shows: at Pump House Theatre for the Watford Fringe on 20th July, and at Macready Theatre on 28th July.

Reviews of previous solo shows:

★★★★★ “What you will take away from Dog/Actor is Smith’s inimitable talent ” Broadway Baby on Dog/Actor

★★★★★ “Stephen Smith is a hurricane of talent ” – Everything Theatre on Dog/Actor

★★★★★ “Smith is real, raw, emotional, and worthy of an Olivier Award, in my opinion ” LondonTheatre1 on Harry’s Christmas

★★★★★ “An intimate and spellbinding performance by Smith ” North West End on One Man Poe

Written by Joan Greening

Performed and Directed by Stephen Smith

Music by Joseph Furey and Projection Design by Stephen Smith

Produced by Threedumb Theatre (www.threedumbtheatre.com / @3dumbtheatre)

Venue: Mint Studio, Greenside @ George St, 22-26 George St, Edinburgh

Date / Time: 2nd – 17th August (not 11th) / 14:00 (55 mins)

Tickets: £12 / £10 concessions (£7.00 previews on 2nd & 3rd August)

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/montage-of-monet

Box Office Phone Number: 0131 226 0000

Vanitas and Other Tales of Art and Obsession
By Jake Kendall

Art, it can be beautiful, provocative and for some, an obsession, this is an intriguing book, covering all of that in a series of stories. Find out in the blurb below about the book and my thoughts in my review.

Blurb

Spanning 300 years of art history and weaving art styles including Cubism, Surrealism, and the Baroque into his prose, Jake Kendall’s collection tells the stories of those with an obsession for creation – artists who sacrifice friendships, careers, romance, and even their own happiness in pursuit of a vision.

Review

Take a paint brush and create a few strokes, pick up a keyboard and type some words. Weave art and words, bound together, add in imagery and raw emotion and that’s what is brought together in Vanitas.
Art comes in many styles and has done as fashions and times change over millennia. It takes, almost a life of its own and for some artists, became an obsession. Loves lost, life or bits of it like sanity, lost. You get a feeling of how important for the pursuit of perfection, the next picture it is for the artists. It can be quite an intense read at times, which fits it all perfectly.

The characters in the book are well-drawn. There are real artists, such as Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gogh that appear in the stories. The romance, obsession and imagery seduces you to read further.

There’s the artiness of the prose, but not to be mistaken for floweriness with no substance. You learn things behind what brings the artists to a certain point in their lives. You can almost feel the artistic style of the artists as you read the prose as it imitates their time, their paintings, their brushstrokes.

This is a clever story of prose imitating artwork and what goes on inside an artistic mind.