Frida Kahlo’s short, emotionally intense life is brought to the stage by the multi-gifted Vanessa Severo in Frida . . . A Self Portrait. Severo created the play after seeing a connection between Kahlo’s chronic medical problems and her own disability, drawing on their shared Hispanic heritage to forge a powerhouse of a show on the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Upperstage.
The story begins as Kahlo is recuperating from a devastating bus accident which left her bedridden and in pain, which sidelined her plans to study medicine but also re-triggered her love of painting. As a child, she’d had polio, and was close to her father. During the time she was trapped in a bed, she began painting vivid self-portraits because that was all she could see. The play recounts her marriage to the artist Diego Rivera, and the emotional pain caused by her miscarriages and his infidelities. The pair traveled around the world as Rivera painted his murals, finally settling in Mexico City, where the couple clashed and both had affairs — she was openly bisexual. Kahlo’s evolving artistic sensibility was deeply influenced by her Mexican heritage, her emotional honesty, and a fierce belief in herself as well as the encouragement of artists of the day. Rivera and Kahlo’s divorce and remarriage tested both artists. However, her health began to decline, leading to several painful and unsuccessful operations. She managed to work throughout the period with easels propped up in her bed and in front of wheelchairs. Kahlo’s story ends at age 47 after a long illness.
Severo’s portrayal of this unique artist is impassioned and authentic. The clever use of a clothes line allows her to embody the artist in her many guises, discarding one costume for another on stage as she moves through her life. As a celebration of the complexity of the artist and her emotional reality, Frida . . . A Self Portrait succeeds in illuminating Kahlo and her portrayer.
The show runs through April 7 at the IRT. Visit irtlive.com or call 317-635-5252 for ticket availability.
