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PETER BROWN Return to previous page Peter Brown's Review Index
My Matisse
22 Nov 2006 Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a French artist whose work was noted for the use of bright colours in his paintings, and the power of his draughtsmanship. The son of a grain merchant, Matisse was originally destined for a career in the law, but headed for Paris in 1891 to study art. Eventually, Matisse and his like-minded artistic associates came to be known as 'the wild beasts', which seems a peculiar and unlikely title when one studies pictures of the man himself - even painting in a suit and tie, and described as being 'very formal'. Howard Ginsberg's play 'My Matisse' focuses on the women who shared Matisse's life (to a greater or lesser extent) in order to provide some insight into Matisse himself. An admirer of Matisse's work, Ginsberg was particularly interested in exploring why the artist continued to produce colourful and happy paintings while his wife and daughter were tortured by the Nazis in World War II. The resulting play has an all-female cast, where Ginsberg in a way 'paints' portraits of each of the women in Matisse's life, and in doing so draws a rather uncomfortable and unflattering picture of the great artist himself. Although it's clear that Ginsberg has done considerable research, he admits that there were some aspects of Matisse's relationships that had to be 'sketched in' via his imagination. I don't think one can easily quibble with that, bearing in mind the creative nature of the main subject. Last year, I saw the excellent 'House of Bernada Alba' (Federico García Lorca’s 1936 play translated by David Hare and performed at the National). Like 'My Matisse', Lorca's play also employs an all-female cast, and the two plays have much in common. I hope this won't sound patronising, but there's something about an all-female cast which brings a certain kind of sensitivity to a play, which Lorca obviously understood and which both Howard Ginsberg and director, Ruth Carney, have been able to capitalise on to great effect here too. Each of the performances from this team of seven outstanding actors is highly distinctive, well-defined and finely honed. For example, Fiz Marcus gave us a wittily independent and forceful Gertrude Stein (writer and art collector) who declares “art is politics; art is war". On the other hand, Sarah Corbett brought a childlike (though not childish) wonder and simplicity to the role of daughter Marguerite, informing us that Matisse “loved his country and his family – from a distance”. But there's a certain degree of commonality in all the performances - something difficult to define precisely but which links them together almost like an invisible thread. Gifted obsessives often have something of a magnetic attraction to others, and this is clearly the case with Matisse. What Ruth Carney has been able to do is to suggest that all these women had something in common, whilst retaining their individual identity and dignity. A very powerful feature of 'My Matisse' is the exceptional music composed by Alexander Rudd. Hauntingly simple as well as spiritually intense, there are some staggeringly beautiful solo piano chords which are often sufficiently poignant in themselves, but at other times the piano is joined by violin and clarinet accompaniment to evoke a kind of sadness which is immensely moving and touching. Jermyn Street Theatre has to be the perfect venue for a play of this kind. I often feel like I'm in someone's living room when seeing plays in this cosily intimate venue. Watching 'My Matisse' has much in common with listening to radio – for the most part we're focusing intently on one character at a time, and the proximity of the actors makes you think, like radio, that they're talking directly to you. And the intimacy of the venue seems to enhance the story-telling quality in the dialogue too. I'm not sure that this play would work quite so well in a larger auditorium, though I could certainly envisage it being a very fine radio play. I doubt that there are any productions - West End or Fringe - that don't exhaust the entire production team in their efforts to bring a perfect product to the stage. And just why some don't work and others do can sometimes be a matter of luck as much as anything else. With 'My Matisse' the pieces of the jigsaw have snapped together perfectly - though I don't think here that luck has anything to do with it. The nature of the theatre, the ability of the actors, a fine script, thoughtful direction and design, and stunning music have combined to produce an elegantly stylish and sensitive production of the very first order. No wonder there were cries of "Bravo" from the audience at the end of the piece - well earned and most justly deserved. Peter Brown
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