“What do you see?” abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko asks his assistant, Ken, the question What is art? And who gets to decide anyway? That’s the opening line of the play ‘Red’ by John Logan, directed by Michael Joseph.
Winner of six Tony Awards, this sizzling 90-minute drama was in five scenes. Red is a multi-layered narrative that examines not only the nature of art and its influence on the world, but also give us a glimpse of a man plagued by doubt, but gifted with genius.
The play starts with Rothko sitting on a wooden chair facing his back to the audience, studying one of the murals which he has been commissioned to do for the new Seagram Building. Rothko embarks on a journey, his greatest challenge yet, to paint a series of murals for a high-class restaurant. Set in Rothko’s studio around 1958, when Rothko went into an abstract phase and depicts two years in the artist’s life. The play is presented by the one of the City’s oldest theatre groups Gnatak.
Ken is played by Vijay Krishna and Rothko by Madan Chouthoy. What follows is a raw and provocative dialogue between mentor and assistant, between old and young. They also discuss life and death and everything in between.
As the play proceeds, we learn how Ken questions Rothko’s theories of colour, his integrity in accepting a commission for commercialism of art and learn how paintings need to pulsate and be seen in a protected space.
Michael Joseph an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He is a filmmaker and has been involved in theatre for the past 35 years. He says, “The play had themes that I could relate to. I have my students who learn from me and move on. The play too explores the student-teacher relationship, which can be read as father-son relationship.
The audience thoroughly enjoyed the play as it catered to the aesthetic and intellectual part of the script. For those who missed the play, another opportunity to watch it is on February 17 at Ranga Shankara and on 19th and 20th at Jagriti at 7.30 pm.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks