All photos by Andrée Lanthier
except bottom right by Oliver Domenchini.
Commissioned by the National Arts Centre English Theatre in 2004 in association with Sleeping Dog Theatre and originally coproduced with the National Arts Centre.
Portrait of an Unidentified Man premiered in Ottawa in February, 2005 as part of the National Arts Centre English Theatre subscription season under Artistic Director Marti Maraden. It was subsequently revived at the NAC in July, 2005 due to popular demand. The following year the production toured to the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, London’s Grand Theatre and the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in St. John’s, NL.
"A theatrical feat from every point of view."
CBC Radio
"Accept no substitutes."
The Vancouver Sun
Portrait of an Unidentified Man
written and performed by Pierre Brault
directed by Brian Quirt
lighting and set design by Martin Conboy
composer and sound designer: Justin Haynes
produced by Judi Pearl
Capital Critics’ Circle Award
Best Design: Martin Conboy
2009 TOUR DATES
Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, Ottawa
3 SHOWS ONLY before New Zealand tour:
July 9-11, 2009
Box Office: 613-236-5196
New Zealand Tour
Christchurch Arts Festival: July 30-August 2, 2009
Taranaki Festival of the Arts: August 4-5, 2009
Art is a lie that shows us the truth.
- Pablo Picasso
Artist, fraud, chameleon, victim. Elmyr de Hory was all of these, and arguably the most notorious, successful and prolific art forger of the twentieth century. Never fully recognized as an artist in his own right, and eternally frustrated by this fact, de Hory turned to painting in the style of his contemporaries, including Matisse, Picasso and Modigliani, and passing off the results as originals with astonishing success. After decades spent toiling in anonymity, Elmyr de Hory, at once the swindler and the swindled, finally reveals his own private truth as told by playwright and actor Pierre Brault.
In his own incomparable style, Brault crafts myriad characters, from Orson Welles and Zsa Zsa Gabor to de Hory himself and the artists whose work he forged, to tell a fascinating story that explores the very nature of art and identity.