La Mama Theatre Presents
PICASSO: Le Monstre Sacré | New York Showing
24th - 28th JUNE in NYC
Peter Tate as Picasso
Co-Adapted by Peter Tate and Guy Masterson from the original work by Terry d'Alfonso
Directed by Guy Masterson
Set Design by Eirini Kariori
Actors on screen:
Milena Vukotic (Olga); Margot Sikabonyi (Marie-Terese); Claudia Godi (Geneviev Laporte); Sandra Collodel (Dora Maar)
Photos by NUX Photography by Brigitta Scholz Mastroianni
Poster Image by Gail Hadani
AFTER A ED FRINGE RUN WITH 5 & 4 STARS REVIEWS PICASSO: LE MONSTRE SACRE IS BACK ONCE MORE, THIS TIME, TO LA MAMA THEATRE IN NEW YORK CITY
Critics Praise Peter Tate’s “Electrifying” Performance in Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré at The Odyssey Theatre in LA
Here’s a glimpse at the critical acclaim below from Craig Robert Young, BRITS IN LA
At the Odyssey Theatre, Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré arrives like a provocation rather than a conventional biographical drama. Directed by Olivier Award-winner Guy Masterson and adapted by Peter Tate and Masterson from Terri D’Alfonso’s The Loves of Picasso, the production strips away sentimentality in favour of confrontation, asking audiences to wrestle with the uncomfortable divide between artistic genius and personal destruction.
Peter Tate’s performance is extraordinary. Any actor capable of sustaining a multi-character monologue for ninety minutes deserves admiration, but Tate elevates the form into something electrifying. Channeling the ferocious intensity of Steven Berkoff with flashes of Anthony Hopkins’ psychological precision, he commands the stage with total authority. At times seductive, at times monstrous, his Picasso is never reduced to caricature. Instead, Tate presents a man intoxicated by his own brilliance, unapologetically defending the damage inflicted on the women orbiting his life and art.
The production’s greatest achievement lies in its refusal to offer easy judgment. Picasso addresses the audience as though standing trial, demanding that we decide whether artistic greatness absolves moral failure. Tate handles these shifts in tone masterfully, moving between arrogance, charm, cruelty and vulnerability with unnerving fluidity. The effect is mesmerizing.
Equally effective is the production’s technical design. The soundscape and visual elements heighten the emotional volatility of the piece without overwhelming it. On-screen performances by Sandra Collodel, Claudia Godi, Margot Sikabonyi and Milena Vukotic create haunting echoes of the women Picasso consumed and discarded, while Eirini Kariori’s costume and set design provide a stark, elegant frame for Tate’s relentless performance.
The acclaim surrounding the production is well deserved. British critics have described it as “marvelous, brilliant, enthralling” and “an artistic and theatrical masterpiece,” and those accolades feel entirely earned in this Los Angeles engagement.
Running for only two weeks at the Odyssey Theatre, Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré is not comfortable viewing, nor should it be. It is a fierce, intelligent examination of genius, ego and moral compromise, anchored by a towering solo performance from Peter Tate that burns long after the lights go down.
Previous Reviews
"Tate fills the space in an exceptional reincarnation of Picasso. Tate more than deserves any accolade he receives. Combining a whole range of emotions, wit, pathos, sensuality, humour, and what a mover! Such a production restores one’s faith in theatre and I agree with the many comments I heard exiting the show: "marvellous, brilliant, enthralling".
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ British Theatre Guide
"Portrayed by Peter Tate with such emotional intensity, he reveals what a vulnerable soul Picasso was behind his deceptive mask of privacy. Reflecting on all these broken relationships, we perhaps glimpse a glimmer of remorse through this intimate close up of a fractured, weeping man in his own Cubist mode.
With the use of imaginative, flash-back film sequences, poetry and music, Guy Masterson choreographs the rhythmic pace of the dramatic narrative like a lyrical dance. (...) this visionary, intelligent portrait is an artistic and theatrical masterpiece."
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Edinburgh Guide
"Another Guy Masterson production comes to Edinburgh and certainly does not disappoint. Peter Tate is mesmerising as Picasso in this one man tour de force. ...A fabulous performance and a fabulous play"
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ One4Review
"Tate certainly hypnotises his audiences, often making direct eye contact with a look that burns into your soul and is both seductive and shocking... just like the artist. But he is also subservient, coy and angry as he becomes his women, giving us a well-rounded view of a life audiences are left to judge."
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ UK Theatre Network
"Peter Tate makes an intense Picasso, his performance utterly committed and unflinching. Guy Masterson knows how to stage an evocative show, unsurprisingly, and the pared down set consisting of a white sheet hung in an encapsulating semi-circle, a ragged pillow, and a step-ladder certainly focusses attention. It provides a canvas for projected films conjuring Picasso’s various amours as his mind turns from one to the next. Tate is magnificent, his voice a thing of beauty."
★ ★ ★ ★ Quintessential Review
★ ★ ★ ★ North West End
★ ★ ★ ★ Culture Fix
★ ★ ★ ★ ReviewsHub
★ ★ ★ ★ The UpComing
A visceral, uncompromising portrait of Pablo Picasso 50 years after his death…
Undisputed genius, visionary artist, yet Picasso’s obsession often destroyed those he professed to love….
Brilliantly incarnated by Peter Tate, in a challenging, powerful, intelligent study, Picasso passionately defends his reputation.
It’s an explosive, deeply passionate voyage of self-revelation, leaving the audience as his jury… Should we condemn or forgive?
Peter Tate as Picasso
British actor Peter Tate was trained at Weber Douglas in London, and with Stella Adler in New York, where he began his career. Credits there included The Bacchae on Broadway directed by Michael Cacoyannis and Richard III with The American Shakespeare Company.
Returning to London he played a leading role opposite Alan Bates in Yonadab by Peter Shaffer, directed by Peter Hall at The National Theatre. He was Invited by the Actor's Studio NYC to play the co-lead, Prince Felix Yusopov, opposite Peter Stomare, then Bergman's leading actor, in Rasputnin.
More recent highlights include playing Macbeth in Poland with the acclaimed Polish director Henry Baronowski, Tabloid Caligula at the Arcola and 59E59th st, American Justice at The Arts (West End) and Babylone at The Belgrade Coventry.
At The Playground Theatre he recently played Shylock in A Merchant of Venice directed by Bill Alexander, Paradise Circus directed by Anthony Biggs and the opening production Picasso directed by Michael Hunt. His own play One Man premiered last spring as part of the Love and Destruction evening and has just recently competed filming.
Tate has won numerous awards for his stage version of Odd Man Out in Jerusalem, St Petersburg and Wroclaw to name a few. The Film adaptation of Odd Man Out has garnered Tate numerous best actor awards at International film festivals.
Guy Masterson
Director | Dramaturg
LAMDA & UCLA trained, and actor, director, writer and producer of 40+ years. A 27 year veteran of the Edinburgh Fringe, he has presented over 150 plays and is associated with many of its biggest hits. He has performed 11 solo plays including Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm, Shylock and A Christmas Carol, and has given over 5000 solo performances globally since 1992.
He won The Stage Best Actor Award in 2001 for Fern Hill & Other Dylan Thomas and has received a further 4 nominations for his solo work. He has also directed 27 solos including the 2010 Olivier winning Morecambe. Most recently, he directed the Olivier nominated West End hit, The Shark Is Broken which has opened on Broadway on August 10. He is married to Brigitta and father to Indigo and Tallulah.
Eirini Kariori
Set & Costume Design
Eirina Kariori is a designer and maker for theatre and performance, trained at London College of Fashion (UAL). Eirini has worked with designer Rhea Thierstein (Swarovski window display Vienna), costume designer Fotini Dimou (New Jibla, National Theatre of Kuwait) and wearable art designer Erevos Aether. She has collaborated numerous times with Theatre Lab Company, as Milliner/Assistant Designer for Six Nights on the Acropolis (Hellenic Centre), Set and Costume designer for the OFF COMM nominated for Best Production Great Expectations (The Playground Theatre), visual designer and editor for the online mini-series Love Letters, Mrs X and Lord Byron-the Great Philhellene.