A one man show starring Stephen Smith as the artist. It begins with him as an old man, raging against the failings of his body, and turns into reminiscence of a long life. Beginnings, failings, relationships, poverty, fame, riches, they're all there. And maybe that's the problem. Shoehorning so rich a life into 55 minutes is a near impossible challenge if you want to get so much detail in.
Consequently much of the opening feels more like lecture or polemic than drama, and that issue reoccurs throughout. The use of a screen to provide illustrations of people and paintings adds to that sense of education over entertainment. Not that it's boring though. Smith does a decent job with the clunky script, gets a few laughs, and does show his acting chops when the occasion allows. Perhaps he needs to remember he's not in a full size theatre, but a small room. His angry Monet was a bit too loud for the space!
And this is no hagiography. the man portrayed is arrogant, selfish and treats people badly, especially women. However there isn't really much about the painter. Yes, he loves painting from nature, and we hear about his influences, his own self of his place in the art world, but little of how he developed his techniques which made his work so loved.
If you want to learn a bit about Monet from a (mostly accurate) historical perspective it's interesting, but it offers little as a drama. Hard to recommend.
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