Vincent

This new play by Morag Haysom endeavors to bring forth an alternate to the accepted assumption that Vincent Van Gogh’s death was a suicide. Haysom’s narrative draws us into the troubled mind of Vincent Van Gogh, who, having always felt he was living in the shadow of his namesake, his brother Vincent who died at birth, fell into an ever increasingly restless life of loose hours and looser women, and, descended into mental illness, his angry self-righteousness alienating him and eventually leading him to self-mutilation and the loss of his ear.

Bearing an eerie and uncanny resemblance to the actual Van Gogh, David Haysom provides a passionate portrayal of the troubled artist who is being virtually wholly supported by his benevolent younger brother, Theo, an art dealer, played with great compassion and sensitivity by Blair Wood.  Despite his brother’s troublesome behaviour – “his untidiness, his wastefulness, his moodiness, his drinking” - Theo loves Vincent and believes deeply in his artistic talent.  Rounding out the cast is Donovan Cerminara who plays the role of fellow artist Paul Gauguin with rousing romanticism.

Vincent Van Gogh was a brilliant artist and a deeply sensitive man who never lost his humanity.  Perhaps his death was not a suicide.  In Vincent, Morag Haysom’s well-rounded study of a complex human being makes for an intriguing play with a compelling theory.