Picasso's Artful Occupation

Picasso's Artful Occupation, written by Ian Buckley and directed by Kenneth Michaels, is just finishing its run at the Baron's Court Theatre in Comeragh Road, West Kensington - tomorrow is the last night of a three week run.   As I have something else I want to go and see on Sunday evening, I decided to go tonight.
It was a bit of a rush to get there, as it started at 7.30 p.m., but I made it - just.   In fact, I was in plenty of time, as it was about ten minutes late in starting.

For once, the theatre was quite full, but I still managed to get a seat in the front row facing the stage - my favourite spot in that theatre.

Piucasso't Artful Occupation is about two German officers making an inventory of Picasso's paintings in 1940, following the German occupation of Paris.   All the action takes place in his studio, which is packed high with paintings, and poses the question - how did Picasso manage to survive and keep his paintings in German occupied France?

The answer in the play focuses on the conflict between the two German officers, both of whom are from the same secondary school in Strasbourg.   One is a typical young soldier in an occupied country - bored, more interested in girls that his work, willing to skive and cut corners if he possibly can, and contemptuous of his rather weedy, probably homosexual, arty colleague.   The other one is a stickler for going by the book, being totally honest never doing anything that is against orders.   They are so totally unalike in their lifestyle and attitudes that conflict between them is inevitable.

Picasso is portrayed as someone who  is is intelligent, wily and very perceptive.   He seizes on the conflict between the two officers and uses it to his own advantage, to ensure that he gets them out of his hair as quickly as possible, and without their going through and listing all his paintings and their value - and also leaves them not knowing for certain whether he is in fact friends of their superior.

An interesting subject and an interestin g play - the dialogue was brilliant, the acting equally so, and apparently the storyline was based on really events.