Frida Kahlo: Viva La Vida!

Reviewing Frida Kahlo: Viva La Vida! back in 2009, ActDrop's Peter Brown said ...

"Mesmerising and compelling, 'Frida Kahlo Viva La Vida' is a treat by any theatrical standards and I suspect it has a long shelf-life ahead of it yet."

The latter part of that comment proved spot-on since the show has found space in the schedule at this year's Vault Festival - and deservedly so.

However, there are only 3 performances to catch it - on 1, 8 and 15 February - so you may want to stop whatever you're doing right now and grab tickets here.

Frida Kahlo (1907-54) was a Mexican painter who had far more than her fair share of suffering.

Struck down by polio at the age of 6, the disease left her with one leg thinner than the other, forcing her to wear long dresses in adulthood to disguise the deformity.

And if that wasn't enough, fate was to deal her yet another catastrophic blow when, in her late teens, she was involved in a motor accident between the bus she was travelling on and a trolley car.

The accident left her with horrific injuries almost too numerous to catalogue.

A metal handrail went right through her abdomen and her uterus.

Subsequently she had countless restorative operations, but was more often than not in severe pain, and spent much of her life in hospital.

Kahlo is well known for her paintings (many of them self-portraits), and her relationship with fellow Mexican, muralist Diego Rivera.

They were married twice, but frequently lived apart which is indicative of the stormy nature of their relationship.

Both had extra-marital relationships including one between Rivera and Kahlo's sister.

Frida Kahlo is once again played by Gaêl Lecornec who has already received huge critical acclaim for the role.

If there's one play we'd single out as a 'must see' at Vault Festival then Frida Kahlo: Viva La Vida! is it.

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