The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents “THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK.” Produced by Bristol Old Vic, Kneehigh and Wise Children’s Production, this remarkable production written by Daniel Jamieson and Directed by Emma Rice will mesmerize and hold you in the palm of its hand. When one emerges from its enchantments it is clear that this is not a perfect piece but what a wonderful ride it is.
This is a deft little chamber play with big ideas. The set is a quirky intimate space created by Sophia Clist, who also does the apt costumes never losing the sensibility of its protagonist, the artist Marc Chagall. Firmly planted in the Russian Jewish tradition of the era the sublime music by composer Ian Ross, who comprises the two person orchestra with James Gow, ranges from jaunty to heartbreaking. With hints of the great Kurt Weill his music perfectly underscores the story.
The gifted Marc Antolin as Marc Chagall opens the show with the song “Makin Believe It’s You,” as he reflects on his 30 year marriage to his beloved muse the beautiful Bella Rosenfeld. Bella, as played by a luminous Audrey Brisson, takes up the song and they are transported to their “love at first sight” encounter in their hometown of Vetebsk.
Audrey Brisson as Bella Chagall, Marc Antolin as Marc Chagall in “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” – Photo by Steve Tanner, courtesy of The Wallis
We follow the marriage as it matures from youthful bliss to the frustration and bitter feelings that come from a marriage where the artist’s work takes precedence over the development of the other. In this case it was Bella whose ambition to write was thwarted by her need to support “The Art.” Yet it is abundantly clear that this was a dedicated marriage producing one daughter Ida, and allowing Chagall to create the masterpieces he left to the world. Throughout, their lives were made immensely more difficult due to anti-Semitism, Pogram, and the rise of the Nazis forcing them to escape countless times until arriving in New York City in 1941. Ironically finally safe, Bella died of a viral infection in 1944.
Continually inventive staging and whimsical choreography are on full display as rendered by Director-Choreographer Emma Rice with Choreographer Etta Marfitt. The lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, ranges from the sepia tones of yesterday to the saturated hues of a Chagall work.
Director of Photography Steve Tanner moves the camera beautifully within the confines of the stage engaging us with intimate close ups of these translucent actors. However as an audience member of a live stage production you would be looking at the wider picture and this was missing from this production. The occasional wide shot would have helped us to feel the theatricality of the event. Sound by Simon Baker was exactly right.
The lead actors are consummate professionals who can sing, dance and act. Missing for me was the sexual chemistry that these two lovers most certainly had. The actors are loving and sweet with their characters but there is no tangible heat between them. Missing too was the deep fear and anger that must have accompanied them as they moved from country to country to escape the threat of systematic anti-Semitism. Thinking they were safe in France they were not prepared for the fast and total collapse of the country to the Nazis and waited too long to leave. The Chagall’s were arrested in Marseille by the French police along with other Jews and most certainly would have been sent to the camps had they not been saved by an American rescue operation. The terror of that experience must have been overwhelming and yet I felt little of that in this staging.
Finally, and most importantly, where is the art itself? Yes we see Chagall painting Bella through rhapsodic dance moves but no final portrait. There is a silly green papier-mache cow prop and eccentric hats representing his work but no actual work. A version of “The Rabbi of Vetebsk” is used for comical effect, which might be considered demeaning. For me this lack is a great oversight. Without seeing the magnificent paintings of Marc Chagall we do not get the full picture of the man or of Bella who is the muse who fired his imagination. With the judicious use of projections or other theatrical devices this deficit could be remedied.
Marc Antolin as Marc Chagall in “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” – Photo by Steve Tanner, courtesy of The Wallis
Highly stylized, entertaining, and charmingly told, this is an engaging and I think important production whose shortcomings will not prevent you from its enchantments. The final dance to a recorded version of “Makin Believe It’s You” is achingly moving.
In this time of great uncertainty and loss a theatrical production of this superior quality will certainly help you through.
The Flying Lovers Of Vitebsk is available On-Demand December 11–18, 2020. For more information and tickets, click HERE.
Written by Tam Warner for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Marc Antolin as Marc Chagall and Audrey Brisson as Bella Chagall in “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” – Photo by Steve Tanner, courtesy of The Wallis.
