In the present day, Frida Kahlo’s picture sells every little thing from socks to stationery. The enduring Mexican painter recognized for self-portraits that delivered social commentary in a mode that merged surrealism, magical realism, people artwork and totems of Mexican tradition has been so ubiquitously merchandized, it’s straightforward to miss the truth that Kahlo was a revolutionary artist who overcame staggering obstacles inside and with out the artwork world.
“Frida … A Self Portrait,” which opened Friday at Glencoe’s Writers Theatre, digs deep into her life. Within the 75-minute, one-woman present written and carried out by Vanessa Severo, Kahlo sits firmly on the middle, with Severo taking part in each the artist and a constellation of these in Frida’s orbit, her mother and father, docs and someday husband and fellowartist Diego Rivera amongst them.
Directed by Joanie Schultz, “Frida” is a visually lush, emotionally wealthy story of the artist as a younger girl. Kahlo by no means has the possibility to develop into in any other case: She died in 1954, at 47. However whereas tragedy blooms all through “Frida,” the piece is pocked with pleasure and humor.
“I attempted to drown my sorrows, however the bastards realized easy methods to swim,” Severo-as-Frida wryly observes early on.
‘Frida … A Self Portrait’
Severo forces the viewers to confront Kahlo’s lifelong battles with the identical unblinking perspective that radiates from Kahlo’s portraits, daring the viewers to actually look, and really hear.
The piece is framed by a deathbed interview Kahlo is giving at her beloved Mexico Metropolis dwelling, the Casa Azul. Flashbacks merge with the current as Kahlo remembers pivotal moments from her childhood, her inventive profession, the bus accident that almost killed her and her brutally tempestuous relationship with Rivera.
Severo additionally weaves a strand of her personal story into “Frida,” breaking the fourth wall, dropping out of character and addressing the viewers instantly. And whereas the departure from Frida’s world is initially jarring and bumps proper as much as the sting of self-indulgence, it principally works. As did Kahlo, Severo has her personal historical past with bodily trials that might hobble most.
Kahlo’s accomplishments throughout her lifetime have been important: She was the primary Mexican artist to have her work proven within the Louvre and exhibited in New York and Mexico. But Severo makes abundantly clear that Frida was without end within the shadow of Rivera and stymied by the sexism that put her there.
“It’s not you,” she tells Diego after certainly one of his many affairs and exhibitions. “It’s all of you.” It’s a sweeping assertion about males, however it feels actual and uncooked and plain.
Severo portrays the traumas that pushed Kahlo from “mushy lady” to a “arduous girl” with ruthless physicality. Kahlo was born with polio. In a tough-to-watch scene, we see Severo develop into Frida as a toddler, her German-born father demanding she rise up and stroll whilst she screams in ache.
Kahlo did study to stroll, however at 18, a bus accident left her impaled by a steel rod, her pelvis shattered in three locations, her clavicle snapped, her again and ribs damaged, a prognosis of (per Severo’s dialogue) “not less than two years of full mattress relaxation” and the peace of mind that she’d by no means stroll once more or bear youngsters. Kahlo had some 35 surgical procedures associated to the accident. She spent her years of mattress relaxation creating 143 self-portraits.
At instances, Severo forgoes phrases totally, telling swaths of Kahlo’s story utilizing attractive, dream-like choreography backed by sound designer Thomas Dixon. In the course of the excessive violence of the bus accident, Severo — who’s clearly a gifted dancer — writhes on the stage, evoking ache with a horrible magnificence. Later, a crooning love tune from the Nineteen Thirties supplies the incongruous, swoony sonic backdrop as Frida suffers years of miscarriages. Dealing with Diego’s many affairs, she dons a ruby-red gown and dances with a spirit of unmistakable vengeance.
There may be some redundancy in “Frida.” Severo punctuates her play with scenes of the artist’s determined morphine consumption. These are highly effective and gutting the primary two instances. By the third, they’re repetitive.
The flowing motion performs out on Jacqueline Penrod’s ethereal set, which contains a trio of clotheslines hanging with clothes Severo dons and sheds as she morphs into totally different characters.
Maybe probably the most indelible and highly effective component inside “Frida” comes when Severo slowly, silently dons the crown of flowers featured so indelibly in Kahlo’s portraits, after which — including a scarf, altering a gown — enacts a few of Kahlo’s signature works. The scene seems like a sacred ritual immersed in defiance, hope and wonder, and it captures the enjoyment and creativity that burst forth even in instances of utmost trial.
