I have a show opening at UVU this week. It's called Vincent at Brixton. It's about Vincent Van Gogh when he was twenty years old and living in London. Some people have described the play as "sexy" but you will have to come see for yourself. Do you think bare shoulders are racy? How about May-December romances? This is totally your thing.
I've learned a lot about Vincent Van Gogh from doing this project. I always thought he was a lunatic who severed his own ear and ate paint. But he wasn't always like that. In this play he's very young, very naive, and is just discovering his interest in art. It's really interesting watching him transition from an aimless boy into to someone who is slowly understanding his own mental disabilities. And then interpreting them through drawings and etchings.
This summer when I was in London I visited the house where this play is set. It's really not a fancy place. It's in kind of a rocky neighborhood and the majority of the houses are rundown and nondescript. But there was an interesting feeling to it; maybe it was just the spirit of the play ricocheting around my head, or maybe Vincent was there, sitting by me on the stoop. You know how I am about ghosts.
Here's a picture to prove I was there. Next time I might even open my eyes.
Please come see this show. It's beautifully acted, and the designs are amazing. Nothing blows up and nobody does any high kicks. But I think you'll love it all the same. I'm incredibly proud of it.
Vincent at Brixton plays Sept. 27-29, Oct. 1-6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Noorda Theatre. Tickets are available at the School of the Arts Box Office at the Noorda Theatre, at Campus Connection in the Sorensen Student Center, or by calling 801-863-PLAY (7529).
