I caught a preview show the other night, and was excited to see it after hearing so much about it on Broadway. I am so glad that the Vancouver Playhouse is bringing this calibre of production to our city. The moment you walk into the theatre, you can already tell by the outstanding unique stage design that this is gonna be good! And it did not disappoint!
It did start off a bit slow and I wasn't sure I was in the mood for a two-person show. However, the last show I saw at the Vancouver Playhouse that wowed me was a two-person production, A Life in the Theatre, from two summers back. So, this still held promise, and it lived up to it. By the time Jim Mezon, who plays famed artist Mark Rothko, blows up in the second scene at his co-star, I was captivated and couldn't wait to see how this teacher/student father figure/son relationship was going to play out. Both Mezon and co-star David Coomber do a startling job with their characters, just having to memorize 100 minutes of dialogue alone (with no intermission)!
Paintings come alive on the stage in this production, and the canvas painting scene mid-way brought out giddy applause from the audience, excited to see the choreographed interlude amidst the witty and biting banter. The play itself brings up issues that I myself have been asking as of late. Things like, what is art? How does one look at art? What does art mean to different people?
So glad I got to see this, and if you are a fan of theatre, this is definitely a must-see of the season! RED plays from January 14 - February 4 at the Vancouver Playhouse.
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