Review: DORA VERSUS PICASSO, Drayton Arms

Dora Maar and Pablo Picasso met in Paris in 1935. She was a young photographer who was establishing herself in a world dominated by men, and he was one of the most revered painters of the time. She was drawn to him for his artistic flair, he was known for chasing a new muse every other day.

Dora Versus Picasso attempts to do justice to a relationship where red flags and a penchant for selfishness are the order of the day. While the real-life figures are truly compelling in their role as artists, their fictional characterisation becomes too two-dimensional to hold any historical weight due to a rather fractured direction that compromises the scope of the piece.

The adaptation of Cecil Jenkins' novel of the same name is divided between Emma Jesse and Claire-Monique Martin, with both of them credited as co-directors, and with the latter also taking the role of Dora as well as producing. It's perhaps this overload of work that pushed her performance to suffer greatly, turning her Dora into a stiff and icy woman who's obliterated by Kevin G. Drury's stage presence as Picasso.

They unfortunately share very little chemistry, and what's supposed to be a fascinating look into their artsy liaison shifts into a tug-of-war between his muses, presenting a horrid window into the private life of a man who considers women the culprits of all his misfortunes.

Willing or not, he becomes the focus of the show introducing a tortured painter who easily gets away with anything he does. His Picasso is a problematic, sex-obsessed, quite creepy man who shows little-to-no emotion in all aspects of his life besides painting. Martin is the backsplash of all this, but looks to "directed" and strained in her delivery to match her partner.

Dora Versus Picasso is, in short, not a consistent show on all levels of the production. While the text seems solid enough to remove the faults of the final product from it, the directive angle itself isn't. Shadow play and visual metaphors somehow end up looking misplaced in an otherwise plainly forward piece that ultimately refuses to fully lean into the artistic inclinations of its characters even when it's clearly eager to do so.

As it is, Dora Versus Picasso is messy in its intentions and too aimless to stand on its feet. The material clearly has potential, but at this stage it doesn't fulfill it, nor it justifies the need for two acts.

Dora Versus Picasso runs at the Drayton Arms until 30 November.

To post a comment, you must register and login.