★★★★
‘What do you see?’ is a question frequently asked in the play-text of the National Theatre’s production of Red, and one demanded of us as an audience. Broadcast live from London’s Wyndham’s Theatre in 2018, this multi-award-winning revival directed by Michael Grandage and written by John Logan is a dynamic social commentary on Abstract Expressionist art, an arguable zeitgeist of the late 1950s, and society’s perception of it.
Red is also a forensic examination into the mind of a conflicted artist, and the inner turmoil that comes hand-in-hand with being sentenced with great talent and a need to portray authenticity and raw emotion to the world through their work, in a city that promotes capitalism and mass consumption. Mark Rothko was a pivotal figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement and the play focuses on the latter part of his life; specifically, the period where he is commissioned to create a series of paintings for the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram Building in New York. These paintings later became known as The Seagram Murals.
This fast-paced, thought provoking two-hander is set in the singular setting of Rothko’s unpretentious New York City studio apartment, where we are presented with the impressive backdrop of the workings of the murals. The experience of a gallery-goer is replicated here with the outstanding set design, as we are allowed time to ruminate over what the art means to us individually.
Mark Rothko is reprised spectacularly by Alfred Molina, against a young, fresh-faced, Ken, played perfectly by Alfred Enoch, who has managed to carry the spirit of a wonderfully naïve and endearing child into adulthood, making for the perfect earnest assistant. What we are faced with here are two art enthusiasts, so embroiled in their work we see them both literally and figuratively splatter their emotion and passion onto canvas. While Rothko initially demands power and control over Ken, we slowly see his cruelty dissolve into vulnerability. As we delve deeper into his soul, we bear witness to nihilism and fear; a fear that that a new wave of artists are taking over.
The gradual power shift between the two protagonists is spot-on. The longer the pair work together, the more we see how much Rothko is adversely learning from Ken. Whilst Rothko lashes out at new artists on the horizon, Ken eventually works up the courage to stand up to the constant berating. Ken is smart, knowledgeable and ambitious, perhaps how Rothko saw himself when he was his age and although he does not show it in conventional ways, he clearly admires Ken and perhaps is a little jealous of his youth and vitality.
The key to the heart of the play is the script written by John Logan. The script is a meaty, in-depth character study that requires at least two watches to appreciate the vast array of philosophical debates that are burnt through at speed. This snappy dialogue against the red blood bath that is splattered across the stage only becomes more powerful and more sinister as our mind is forcibly drawn to Rothko’s untimely death in 1970; an artist whose ending played out the same way as too many great artists.
Throughout the play Rothko battles with the moral dilemma of accepting sizeable financial gain from his work when it is going to the homes of people who are the very antithesis of his own morals. He insinuates that it is in fact his entire soul, deepest fears and deepest regrets that have been splattered onto primed canvas, not just red paint, and that the people who have the money to buy his art, and dine at the Four Seasons, are only interested in owning a ‘Rothko’ so they can gloat to their friends.
Symbolically, at the end of the play, Rothko reveals that he is going to withdraw his art from the restaurant and send the money back. A satisfying conclusion of real events both for his own peace and for the audience.
Red is a recurrently poignant play that should spark many a dinner party debate for the culture vultures and trend-followers amongst us. 67 years later from the play’s setting, is art still being treated as a commodity that we only hang in our living rooms because we have been told we should in a magazine? This is just one of the many questions asked in this powerful tribute to one of the most influential painters of the 20th century.
Red can be watched on National Theatre At Home now.
Words by Abbie James
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