“‘Sharply directed by Kenzia Dalie. Strong performances by Lindsay Merrithew and Brendan Kinnon.”

The tortured artist is a theme not uncommon in theatre. Riot King’s production of the Tony award-winning play ‘Red’ by John Logan takes this theme to new levels. The brilliant Latvian American modern artist, Mark Rothko, is conflicted between his craving for artistic integrity and the pressures of commercialism.

The play outlines Rothko’s philosophic juggling – his questions on the value of art, how humans should react and the future of contemporary painting. Rothko himself often muses about mythological structures in his work. This play references the conflict and balance between Apollo and Dionysius – Apollo, the practical and structured, versus Dionysius, the free spirit of improvisation.

Sharply directed by Kenzia Dalie, she also designed the set of a low-ceiled studio, messy but practical. It is a basement in New York in the late 1950's.. Rothko has already achieved significant success and has now been commissioned by a Manhattan millionaire (billionaire in our times) to create a series of murals for his vision of a high-end restaurant in a newly-minted skyscraper.

He has hired Ken, a young assistant, to help with this project and others. They have a stormy, but manageable relationship as Rothko hounds Ken about art, philosophy and mythology. Ken absorbs the abuse until he finds his sea-legs and pushes back.

The conflict between artistic integrity and commercialism foments as Rothko rails against the champagne swilling elite who will be eating lush meals under his beautiful murals. A final visit to the restaurant space sends Rothko over the top – he phones his sponsor, returns a down payment and ends the relationship.

Strong performances by Lindsay Merrithew (Rothko) and Brendan Kinnon (Ken) highlight the strengths of this production. Hemmingway-like, Merrithew swaggers and swears – he bullies Ken with philosophic acrobatics. His first line in the play is “What do you see?” This sets the tone and theme of vision. “Make them look” is another of his mantras. Physically establishing this theme, Merrithew has riveting piercing eyes. Many strong moments in the play are punctuated by his direct connection with Ken’s eyes during intense debate.

Ken absorbs Rothko’s stream of conscious controlled fury. He finds a backbone as he starts to match Rothko’s wordplay. At one point he struts around himself and with a large staple gun he gets our attention with a loud crack perfectly timed. Rothko’s vulnerabilities begin to emerge.

The colour red, of course, dominates the set. Renditions of Rothko’s work are often centre stage. Many original oil paintings by abstract artist Ian Harper are also cleverly worked into the set.

One poignant scene has the two artists madly prepping a large canvas with red paint. Turbulent classical music in the background, they slash at the canvas and almost balletically move back and forth between each other enjoying a madcap dance. A relationship starts to form.

With the climax of quitting the lucrative project, Rothko fires the confused assistant. Ironically, it was a compassionate gesture as Rothko frees Ken to pursue a career as he finally compels Ken to “make them look.”

Rothko’s life ends tragically, but this does not, appropriately, hover over the play. One disturbing scene does suggest his hands wallowing in blood until Ken quickly interrupts the moment.

The moving opening and final moments find the artist quietly staring at his work almost trying to answer his own question “what do you see?”

RIOT KING presents
“Red” by John Logan
Director: Kenzia Dalie
Performers: Lindsay Merrithew, Brendon Kinnon
Lighting: Kit Norman
Costumes: Kathleen Welch
Stage Manager: Liz Bragale
Original paintings: Ian Harper

Production runs through: April 6, 2025 at The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West, Toronto.
Tickets: www.theatecentre.org or call The Box Office (416) 538-0988