A few months ago, I found myself in Venice for a day on my way to another destination, and a stroll took me to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, directly on the Grand Canal. What an exquisite place to live and keep a collection of art – “children”, as Peggy would call hers.
If you are looking to escape the cold streets of London this month, head down to the Jermyn Street Theatre and be taken away to Venice. With humour, heartbreak and grand hauteur, “Woman before a glass” offers the unforgettable story of the woman who discovered, encouraged and subsidized many of the greatest Expressionist and Surrealist painters of the first half of the Twentieth century, and was responsible for smuggling her enormous collection out of Europe and out of the hands of the Nazis.
As soon as you enter this charming little theatre space, you are transported, thanks to Erika Rodriguez’s set design, with vintage dresses and furniture, and Ali Hunter’s lighting design. The sunshine quality of the lighting blinds Peggy (played by Judy Rosenblatt) as she gives instructions to the photographers who are about to take her picture for an interview.
