The Painter

Synopsis

At the start of the 19th century, a young Turner was on his way from being just a working class Cockney to a painter who would change the landscape of British and international art forever. Turner was a man obsessed. Heavily reliant on his father and deeply affected by his mother’s rejection, the intensely prolific painter was isolated from the usual breed of artists. The Painter explores the relationships, the competition with Constable and the passion of the artist on the threshold of superstardom.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 16 January 2011

The Arcola has moved half a mile down the road to a semi-derelict old paint factory in Ashwin Street opposite Dalston Junction station: it’s an instantly attractive, adaptable and atmospheric venue, with a high ceiling, brick walls, rough floorboards, a perfect setting to serve in the first instance as JMW “Billy” Turner’s 19th century workplace.

Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s enthralling new play is a deliberately calm and underwritten daub portraying the artist in search of the sublime while floundering helplessly in the mundane business of his private life. Mehmet Ergen’s production, beautifully lit by Emma Chapman, unravels quietly in an authentic place of work.

Toby Jones as Turner - small, squashed, untidy, self-absorbed - is a similar sort of creation to Edward Bond’s distracted Shakespeare in Bingo, seemingly frozen in inaction as his poor mad mother (fraught, despairing Amanda Boxer) is committed to an asylum, hi...

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Latest User Review

David Baxter - 13 February 2011:

It's a shame the Whingers have virtual copyright on the term Paint Never Dries because it would apply perfectly to this tedious play. Characters come and go with no attempt to identify them and scnes come and go with virtually no narrative thread. By the end I had learned almost nothing about Turner except that he probably had a cockney accent. The performances are good but I have no idea what Rebecca Lenkiewicz was trying to achieve....

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