Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

Review: PICASSO, The Playground Theatre

One man show about one man who was very keen to satisfy the appetites of one man

Review: PICASSO, The Playground Theatre

Review: PICASSO, The Playground Theatre The Man, the Myth, the Legend? Well, we get the man, we know the legend and, there few myths left, so thoroughly has the life been mined. In the list of those figures who might not survive a post-#MeToo world, Cubism's co-founder would figure prominently - and Peter Tate and Guy Masterton's adaptation of Terry d'Alfonso's play, presented now as a one-man show, tells us exactly why.

Tate plays the master-painter and enjoys more than a passing resemblance to his subject, albeit without the wicked glint that never left Picasso's eye. What definitely is captured, is the ferocious, animalistic sexual appetite, an expression of an ID that never felt the constraint of a superego for long. Indeed, in the life as presented here, the relentless pursuit of women (and the trail of carnage he left in his wake) overpowers the art, albeit as its frequent inspiration.

Given the monologue format, there's a danger that the women's voices will fail to register or, when they do, merely as a reflection of their relationship with Picasso. That trap is not entirely avoided by the use of Steven Dean's video to show four of the women whom Picasso loved and left. The issue is one of repetition - Picasso falls in love easily, fathers a child, paints those astonishing pictures, loses interest and moves on to the next one. Rinse and repeat as it were. He's not entirely insensitive to the impact of such serial monogamy (and even that descriptor doesn't fit so well, as his eye would wander even then) but another young girl flutters the eyelashes and off we go again.

The show therefore lacks light and shade and, in consequence, dramatic tension, the genius who is a bit of a bastard being a familiar trope. There are a few sketches shown, but the art never really seeps into the narrative - this Picasso could be a rock star in the 60s or a film producer in the 90s. If time, place and art were more embedded in the production, the show would engage more - as it stands, it's only assertions of such that avoid the generic swamping the specific.

For all Tate's convincing portrayal of a towering figure of 20th century culture, we don't get enough of the man in the round - the womaniser yes, the artist no.

Picasso is at the Playground Theatre until 5 February

Photo Credit: Brigitta Scholz-Mastroianni Nux Photography



Photos: See New Images of TITANIC THE MUSICAL UK and Ireland Tour Photo
Brand new production photographs of the cast of Titanic The Musical have been released  (21 March 2023) as the show continues its journey of the UK and Ireland.

Creative Team Set for Ariana DeBose at the London Palladium Photo
FOURTH WALL LIVE has announced the full creative team, band, singers and dancers joining Oscar, BAFTA, and SAG Award winning actor, singer, and dancer ARIANA DEBOSE at the London Palladium.

TREASON THE MUSICAL Takes Autumn Tour to Edinburgh, Sheffield and London Photo
This Autumn will see the highly anticipated British musical premiere its first full production in select theatres across the UK. Kicking off with a bang on 25 October at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Treason will continue to Sheffield Lyceum Theatre on 31 October and finally explode into London's Alexandra Palace from 08 – 18 November.

Photos: Inside Press Night For THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO at the Park Theatre Photo
Check out all new photos from press night of The Way Old Friends Do at the Park Theatre!


From This Author - Gary Naylor

Gary Naylor is chief London reviewer for BroadwayWorld (https://www.broadwayworld.com/author/Gary-Naylor) and feels privileged to... (read more about this author)


Review: LEAVING VIETNAM, Park TheatreReview: LEAVING VIETNAM, Park Theatre
March 21, 2023

Richard Vergette's one-man play is never less than engaging, but one wonders why here and why now?

Review: MACBETH, Southwark Playhouse BoroughReview: MACBETH, Southwark Playhouse Borough
March 17, 2023

Flabbergast Theatre take a bold approach to a familiar play and hit and miss along the way

Review: GUYS & DOLLS, Bridge TheatreReview: GUYS & DOLLS, Bridge Theatre
March 16, 2023

As perfectly realised a revival as one could ever hope to see, full honour paid to both the incomparable source material and the times in which we live now

Review: STILL HERE, Jack Studio TheatreReview: STILL HERE, Jack Studio Theatre
March 15, 2023

Mari Lloyd's new play will speak loud and clear to young people today, but misses a chance for dramatic development as its structure all but disallows the chance to see its subjects together in the same space.

Review: TURANDOT, Royal Opera HouseReview: TURANDOT, Royal Opera House
March 13, 2023

Come for Nessun Dorma; stay for love's triumph over death