“I am as mysterious to myself as I am to everyone else,” Leonora Carrington (played by Jennifer Johnson) says near the beginning of Double Edge Theatre’s “Leonora, La maga y la maestra.”
Conceived, created and directed by Stacy Klein, the performance is a hallucinatory fever dream of the life of the British-born Mexican surrealist artist and writer (1917-2011) and her mentorship of a long line of male artists. It draws on Carrington’s writings and comments in interviews for her dialogue. This performance is a revival of a show the company began developing in 2017, and performed the following years, with a 2020 tour interrupted by the outbreak of covid.
Performed inside a theater at the company’s farm in Ashfield, Massachusetts, from Nov. 13 to 17, 2024, “Leonora” offered a striking series of images: Leonora puts a long knife under her dress and pulls out a cup of blood. Leonora chops cabbage in a kitchen. A bird-woman (Milena Dabova) skulks about. Leonora cradles a large glowing egg. A giantess appears in the distance. Aerialists swing from the rafters. An animalistic man (a hyena, according to the actor, Travis Coe) prowls. Leonora writhes on a bare frame bed in a mental hospital. A medical man (Carlos Uriona) injects her with something, saying, “You must learn to contain those fantasies that possess you.” The bird-woman and hyena-man nuzzle Leonora. Leonora bathes. A priest (?) says, “We float far from the wisdom of our ancestors. We long for illumination.” Leonora recounts being sexually assaulted by soldiers. “It was at this time that I began to think I could save the world,” she says. Leonora imagines herself the stars and moon. Leonora paints the bird-woman’s leg. A giant woman appears and her skirt becomes a billowing cloud—Leonora, the hyena, the bird-woman and others appear underneath bathed in red light.Leonora says, “If anyone tries to psychoanalyze my work, I shall go on strike.” Leonora covers her hands in blood. Leonora slathers her face with white floury paste. Leonora says, “This is a love letter to a nightmare.” Leonora says, “The old gods are alive.” Leonora says, “It is difficult to say who I am because every day it is a new person.” Leonora says, “You may not believe in magic, but something very strange is happening in this very moment. You are disappearing before my very eyes.”
Previously:
Oct. 20, 2018: Enter Leonora Carrington’s Surreal Paintings In Double Edge’s Outdoor Spectacle
April 3, 2019: Leonora Carrington’s Magic Realist Paintings Come Alive at Double Edge Theatre
If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon. And sign up for our free, occasional newsletter so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content ©Greg Cook 2024 or the respective creators.)
