{"id":25706,"date":"2024-11-21T20:10:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T01:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=25706"},"modified":"2024-12-01T11:07:23","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T16:07:23","slug":"leonora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2024\/11\/21\/leonora\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrealist Leonora Carrington Conjured In Double Edge Theatre\u2019s Hallucinatory Bio-Play"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI am as mysterious to myself as I am to everyone else,\u201d Leonora Carrington (played by Jennifer Johnson) says near the beginning of Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performed inside a theater at the company\u2019s farm in Ashfield, Massachusetts, from Nov. 13 to 17, 2024, \u201cLeonora” 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, \u201cYou must learn to contain those fantasies that possess you.\u201d The bird-woman and hyena-man nuzzle Leonora. Leonora bathes. A priest (?) says, \u201cWe float far from the wisdom of our ancestors. We long for illumination.\u201d Leonora recounts being sexually assaulted by soldiers. \u201cIt was at this time that I began to think I could save the world,\u201d she says. Leonora imagines herself the stars and moon. Leonora paints the bird-woman\u2019s leg. A giant woman appears and her skirt becomes a billowing cloud\u2014Leonora, the hyena, the bird-woman and others appear underneath bathed in red light.Leonora says, \u201cIf anyone tries to psychoanalyze my work, I shall go on strike.\u201d Leonora covers her hands in blood. Leonora slathers her face with white floury paste. Leonora says, \u201cThis is a love letter to a nightmare.\u201d Leonora says, \u201cThe old gods are alive.\u201d Leonora says, \u201cIt is difficult to say who I am because every day it is a new person.\u201d Leonora says, \u201cYou may not believe in magic, but something very strange is happening in this very moment. You are disappearing before my very eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously:<\/strong>
Oct. 20, 2018:<\/strong> Enter Leonora Carrington\u2019s Surreal Paintings In Double Edge\u2019s Outdoor Spectacle<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 3, 2019:<\/strong> Leonora Carrington\u2019s Magic Realist Paintings Come Alive at Double Edge Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, occasional newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2024 or the respective creato<\/em>rs.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Nov. 7, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI am as mysterious to myself as I am to everyone else,\u201d Leonora Carrington (played by Jennifer Johnson) says near the beginning of Double Edge Theatre\u2019s \u201cLeonora, La maga y la maestra.\u201d Conceived, created and directed by Stacy Klein, the performance is a hallucinatory fever dream of the life of the British-born Mexican surrealist artist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,109,110],"tags":[465,1282],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25706"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25732,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25706\/revisions\/25732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}