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20 Nov 2003
p. Yesterday we went to see "Vincent in Brixton":http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/theatre/vib.htm at the ["Oxford Playhouse":http://www.oxfordplayhouse.co.uk/]. We don't often go to the theatre (mostly because of the cost), but it's wonderful when you do get a chance to see something--it's such a different experience to the cinema.
p. We heard about the play months ago when it was running in London, and were intrigued by the premise. It tells the true story of a very young and naive Vincent van Gogh when he moved to London to work as an art dealer. He lodged with a much older widow called Ursula, her daughter, and painter-and-decorator Sam in a liberal house in Brixton. Vincent gradually relaxes his uptight Dutch ways and settles in to life Brixton, falling in love along the way. We only see the very start of his artistic career, but his emergence is fascinating to see.
p. I think special praise has to go to Clare Higgins, who played Ursula. She was stunningly moving as the widow--suffering from depression, and yet going through a kind of emergence of her own. The play was also unusual for the amount of real cooking which went on. It isn't often that you get to see a whole Sunday lunch cooked on stage.