Gauguin - Van Gogh: two geniuses in a tense roommate situation at Le Lucernaire

At Le Lucernaire, the Théâtre Noir stage plays host to a new creation devoted to one of the most mythical - and disturbing - episodes in the history of art. Gauguin - Van Gogh, written by Cliff Paillé in collaboration with writer and specialist David Haziot, looks back at the nine weeks the two painters lived together in Arles, before Vincent Van Gogh famously mutilated his own ear.

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Directed by Cliff Paillé and Noémie Alzieu, the play captures the complexity of the relationship between the two artists: admiration, tensions, misunderstandings, solitude and artistic exaltation. The text condenses this intense period, drawing on numerous historical sources and under the watchful eye of an expert on Van Gogh 's work. In this house in the South of France, dreamt of as a home for artists, initial enthusiasm soon gives way to conflict and growing psychological fragility.

The program is aimed at audiences who are sensitive to the great figures of the arts, and those interested in the links between creation and fragility. Fans of contemporary theater will appreciate the accessible yet demanding writing that explores the power of a friendship as brilliant as it is ephemeral. Audiences in search of embodied historical narrative, or biographical theater informed by precise sources, will find it a singularly illuminating work.

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Lasting 1h15, Gauguin - Van Gogh plays Wednesday to Saturday at 6:30pm and Sunday at 3pm. Recommended for ages 12 and up, this show is an opportunity to rediscover a key period in Van Gogh 's life through the prism of a poignant human and artistic confrontation.

This article is based on publicly available information and is not based on direct experience of the show.

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