NEW YORK SHOWING: PICASSO: Le Monstre Sacré

AFTER A ED FRINGE RUN WITH 5 & 4 STARS REVIEWS PICASSO: LE MONSTRE SACRE COMES TO LA MAMA THEATRE IN NEW YORK.

Peter Tate as Picasso

Co-Adapted by Peter Tate and Guy Masterson from the original work by Terry d'Alfonso

Directed by Guy Masterson

Photo by Gail Hadani @gail_hadani

Critics Praise Peter Tate’s “Electrifying” Performance in Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré

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?