“˜La Casa Azul’ paints Kahlo on new canvas

The life of Frida Kahlo, the flamboyant Mexican artist, is to be
painted on stage in a theatrical production at the Freud Playhouse
from May 28 to June 1.

Her life, full of tragedy, pain, richness and beauty is now
being celebrated through Sophie Faucher’s play “La Casa
Azul,” which she wrote and also stars in. The play charts the
life and death of the artist from her deathbed, looking back to her
days as a young woman, as a wife and in the final days before her
death.

Robert Lepage, contemporary theater’s much-acclaimed
director, worked with Faucher and created an experience that
intends to evoke the color of Kahlo’s work in a theatrical
production.

The French actress Faucher, well-known in her home of Quebec,
Canada, became entranced with Kahlo 12 years ago when she picked up
a copy of the artist’s journal.

“The diary of Frida Kahlo is a real work of art,”
Faucher said. “That was the turning point for me, when I
decided that I must write a show to celebrate her.”

Though Julia Taymor’s film, “Frida,” starring
Salma Hayek, has recently ignited interest in the Mexican artist,
Faucher had actually written and performed “Casa”
before the film was in theaters. Faucher says she’s a fan of
the film, but is quick to stress that people should not come to the
play with preconceived ideas. Yet she still sees a similar
relationship between the theatrical tale and the film.

“I hope that people won’t compare it too
much,” she said. “Of course we don’t have the
same budget. I think that Julie Taymor did the movie with
theatrical devices. It’s funny because Robert
(Lepage) works in a way that is very cinematic.”

Even though the play aims to explore the vivid color of
Kahlo’s life, Faucher was also intensely interested in
Kahlo’s connection to death and darkness. Her interest
in death, in fact, seems to generate as much curiosity as her
life.

“Death was her constant companion,” Faucher said.
“She knew that her life was to be short. I can feel in her
being a sense of emergency, to live right here and now and to enjoy
life.”

“La Casa Azul” shows Kahlo’s world through her
own eyes. Her past and present will paint a portrait of the artist
as she meets her final days. Lepage uses video footage throughout
the play, so the audience can expect to be greeted with
multi-faceted visual power and color.

Faucher has found moving parallels in the artist as a woman and
hopes that the dynamism of her character will come through in the
performance.

“We are searching for the human heart,” Faucher
said. “That is the reason we are doing theater ““ to
share emotions and stories with the audience. Frida was a very
theatrical woman.”

“La Casa Azul” will be at the Freud Playhouse
May 28 through June 1. General admission $45, students $15. For
tickets, visit or call CTO at 825-2101.