Were you entranced by the swirling, IMAX-sized sight of Sunflowers when blockbuster show Van Gogh Alive lit up the Royal Hall of Industries this summer? Did it feel like stepping into one of the Dutch post-impressionist painter’s greatest masterworks? Were you left hungry for more?
Well, you're in luck, as another groundbreaking event exploring the life of the tragic artist is headed to Sydney. Vincent Ergo is an immersive theatre experience staged by Controlled Chaos Productions. Audience members can wander freely through Redfern’s 107 Projects for the duration of the 90-minute show, in which you bear witness to the final eight years of the great artist’s turbulent life. You'll not only meet the ginger genius himself, through an intimate exploration of his burning passion and the personal demons that would be his eventual undoing, but you’ll also meet the key figures in his immediate orbit.
Costume, sets and dramatic sound and lighting design all contribute to a sprawling trip back to late 19th-century France. Describing the play as a "unique, educational and thrilling performance," the theatre-makers suggest you’ll most likely be swept up in observing the actors' performances, but for those who choose to, there will also be opportunities to interact with the cast. If that is so not your bag, do not worry – anyone who wishes to merely watch from a safe distance is welcome to do so.
Tickets are $69, with a complimentary drink included on arrival. The Vincent Ergo team invite you to, “travel with [van Gogh] through the sultry streets of France, visit him at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, and witness as he creates his most famous masterpieces inside the yellow house of Arles. Meet the artists he idolised, the women he relentlessly pursued, and bear witness to the struggles within his own mind.”
