Review: American Repertory Theater's 300 PAINTINGS is Artful Exploration of One Man's Struggle

Emotional breakdowns can forever change a person, often not for the better. For Australian performer Sam Kissajukian, however, a lengthy 2021 manic episode with bipolar disorder upended his life and ultimately set him on a course to a new form of artistic expression.

Over a period of six months, the Sydney-based comedian stepped away from standup, rented an abandoned cake factory, and became a painter – creating 300 large-scale paintings. Without realizing it then, Kissajukian was capturing his mental state in real time.  Now through October 25 at Farkas Hall in Cambridge, American Repertory Theater is presenting the Vineyard Theatre production of the creator and performer’s compelling “300 Paintings,” in which Kissajukian delivers one of the most revelatory solo performances on a Boston area stage in recent years.

Kissajukian lets his standup roots show throughout, but only as leavening for the highly personal topics he covers, from mental illness, bipolar disorder, and psychosis to insomnia. Even when it employs humorous anecdotes to make its points, this is still an enlightening character study of an individual navigating his own psychological challenges.

As he so deftly demonstrates with “300 Paintings,” the bipolar Kissajukian has embraced painting both as an avocation and as an expression of his emotions. In an interview included in the show’s program, he describes combining his background as a comic with his work as a visual artist.

“They absolutely influence each other. More so, it takes the pressure off trying to express all your ideas and impulses into one medium, which can be stifling. Some ideas are better suited to a visual medium vs. a verbal medium. Surprisingly, my ability to articulate ideas verbally has also improved as a direct result of painting,” he says. “In (this show), by superimposing visual and verbal mediums, I’m better able to describe the ineffable mental states associated with Bipolar.” 

The play’s structure has Kissajukian presiding over a slide show of his paintings. The performer’s warm spirit and gentle, often self-deprecating humor infuse the proceedings. He’s not acting but instead being himself, his storytelling all the more impressive because he does not work from a script.

A touring production – it moves to the McCarter Theatre Center at Princeton on October 29 – “300 Paintings” travels with numerous prints of the works discussed in the piece, with audience members invited, post-performance, onstage for a closer look. At a recent sold-out performance in Cambridge, a large number lined up for this opportunity. Afterward, some adjourned to the theater lobby where Kissajukian welcomed conversations inspired by the play, his personal journey continuing.