Forever Van Gogh, Teatre Apolo Barcelona Review
Reviewed by Laura for Theatre and Tonic
Forever Van Gogh tells the story of the renowned painter through the letters he exchanged with his brother Theo. This is an interesting concept that grants the production originality and a different point of view.
First, I would like to discuss the staging. At the centre of the stage, there is a giant cube that serves as different sets effectively. The most impressive aspect for me, though, was the projections. They were of extremely high quality, spanning the back and sides of the stage. I would have liked a front screen to immerse the characters even more in the action so that Van Gogh could be inside his world rather than in front of it. Even so, the effect was exquisite, as the creators used AI to make the pictures quite literally come to life, with the paint moving in front of our eyes.
I quite liked the men’s costumes: well-tailored suits in interesting fabrics. The women’s dresses were, for the most part, cheap-looking, almost like Halloween costumes. I understand that this was meant to emulate that the characters are poor, but I believe this could have been achieved with different types of fabric.
The action was frequently interrupted by strange contemporary dance breaks that, for the most part, added little to the story. The stage was completely crowded with people whose roles were expendable; I believe a smaller format would have worked better for this kind of show, with the different characters distributed among about four actors, which would have given the story and projections more space to breathe.
The highlight of the play for me was Felipe Ansola as Theo Van Gogh. I found myself wishing the story could have been about him instead! He portrayed the character’s empathy, guilt, and conflict beautifully throughout the show.
Although Forever Van Gogh has a very interesting concept, a dedicated cast, and the beautiful works of the artist as a backdrop, the show unfortunately fell a bit flat for me in terms of execution.
You can see Forever Van Gogh until October 20th at Teatre Apolo in Barcelona. After that, the show will transfer to Pontevedra and Sevilla in December.
★★
