Review: Peter Tate and Guy Masterson on "Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré"

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at the Odyssey Theatre May 8-17

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Adapted for solo performance by Peter Tate and Guy Masterson from The Loves Of Picasso by Terri D’Alfonso, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble is presenting British actor Peter Tate in Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré , a visceral, uncompromising portrait of the artist. An undisputed genius and visionary artist, Pablo Picasso’s obsession with his work often destroyed those he professed to love. Brilliantly incarnated by Tate in a challenging, powerfully intelligent study, Picasso passionately defends his reputation in an explosive, often disturbing voyage of self-revelation. The audience is invited to be his jury. Should we condemn his proclivities, or forgive him for the sake or art?

I spoke with actor Peter Tate and director Guy Masterson about the origin of the play and their vision for bringing it to the Odyssey Theater in West Los Angeles.

Peter Tate. Photo courtesy of the arits.

Thanks for speaking with me, Peter. First, how long have you been interested in the work and/or persona of Pablo Picasso?

It began around 2014. I was in New York rehearsing a play with an American actress directed by Sonra Lee, who was one of my teachers when I was at Stella Adler . I sent an email around, and a lady called Terry d’Alfonso, seeing that I was in New York, said you must come and read this play about a lawyer defending Picasso against the accusations of the women in his life. I did so, and the potential producers said to Terry that she must do a play about Picasso and that “he,” meaning me, was your Picasso — and so it began.

Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré is a demanding one-person performance. How did your approach to embodying Picasso evolve between the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 2023 and this West Coast run?

Since Edinburgh, I have performed at my own theatre in London, The Playground Theatre; in Milan, Italy; and at the Theatre Royal Bath . Each time you carry the knowledge from before on to the next incarnation. I am in the middle of doing 3 performances in London before I go to L.A., and I and the director, Guy Masterson , have been making changes which I think have enhanced the production

Picasso is both a genius and deeply flawed. How do you navigate portraying his brilliance alongside his destructive personal tendencies without losing audience empathy?

This is a challenge. Terry d’Alfonso , the original creator of the play when it was called The Loves of Picasso , and I were clear that we did not want to sanitize Picasso, that we wanted to show him warts and all. Of course in the age of Epstein and Weinstein, that is even more challenging. A common response I get from women is “I was horrified to find myself falling in love with him.” The prominent British actress Celia Imrie also said this. Picasso had many sides, some of which were very charming and seductive, to go alongside the monstrous side of his persona .

Peter Tate Photo by Brigitta Scholz Mastroianni/NUX Photography

The audience acts as Picasso’s jury. How does performing directly to that sense of judgment shape your energy and engagement on stage?

I want to share with them the warmth and joy he had, as well as his narcissistic behavior, without holding back. I want to share all of who he was and leave the rest for others to judge.

As the jury, is the audience allowed to ask you questions. And if so, what is the strangest one so far?

No one has asked a question yet, but there are always big discussions afterwards, when I meet audience members after the show. One woman last night said that she knows so many men like Picasso.

Your adaptation involved condensing Terri D’Alfonso’s The Loves of Picasso . What were the most challenging choices in deciding which aspects of Picasso’s life and relationships to highlight?

Guy and I adapted the original play together, and we pretty much followed the lines of that play — the major difference being that I would be playing all the women.

The play includes on-screen performances integrated with your live work. How do you interact with these multimedia elements while maintaining the immediacy of a solo performance?

I think the screen scenes are integrated fairly seamlessly. Sometimes I am in direct contact with what is happening on the screen, and at other times they are a backdrop to what I am doing on stage.

Peter Tate Photo by Brigitta Scholz Mastroianni/NUX Photography

Is there anything about Picasso that reminds you of yourself? In what ways?

I am a man, and I also have Latin blood in me as my father was Greek. I grew up in the playground with other boys talking about women, and it was all violent. Of course, these images penetrated into me and it took me a long time to overcome that, largely thanks to my wife Naomi Sorkin , for which I am forever grateful.

What do you hope audiences will be talking about after seeing the play?

A lot of audience members have no idea who Picasso was or how he led his life, certainly in relation to the women in his life. I would like them to revisit Picasso, and a lot of the audience says they will. He was certainly a genius, but a flawed human being. The question is, do we accept his art for what it was, or condemn him and cancel him?

And now Guy Masterson .

Guy Masterson . Photo courtesy of the artist.

As director, how did you balance the theatrical intensity of a one-person show with the psychological depth needed to explore Picasso’s complex character?

First and foremost, we are putting on a play, so it has to be theatrically engaging to work. Solo plays can be intense, but they must have variety — and humor plays a big part in that. Picasso, while intense and complex as a person, was also very charming, so the play has to expose that charm in order to balance out the more difficult (shall we say) elements of his character.

Having directed Peter Tate at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival, what adjustments or refinements have you made for this Odyssey Theatre production?

I originally directed this piece in January, 2023, then came back to it for Edinburgh that summer, and now again for runs in London, Los Angeles and then New York in June. It’s complex storytelling as well as a psychological journey and an entertainment, so as it sinks deeper into Peter’s own psyche, it’s important to tune the key points that the audience needs to go on that journey with him. So my job is to ensure that the moments land, and that Peter is as on point as he was when he started out.

How do you help guide the pacing and rhythm in a performance that moves between explosive confession, seduction, and moments of reflection?

Our job is to plot a story for the audience to follow while immersing themselves in Peter’s portrayal of Picasso and bathing in his charisma. All those gear changes help to keep the piece moving on, like chapters in a book... and as it is a solo show, it is important for Peter to fully realize those gear changes are vital to keep them on the hook. We use flamenco dance and passionate outbursts, and strong suggestive lighting and some sound to help this... but the majority of beats are created and governed by the actor’s emotion in the moment.

The play invites the audience to judge Picasso’s choices. How do you work with Peter to ensure that the audience experiences both tension and empathy without tipping the performance in one moral direction?

That is pretty much my main job. We worked together on the adaptation. Peter would tell me how saying the words felt, and I would tell him how they made me feel. The selection of words that Picasso uses to explain and or defend himself without self-incriminating is important. But it’s like an impressionist painting. Each daub adds to and eventually reveals the full picture.

This production integrates multimedia and projected elements alongside live acting. What were your strategies for making the technology complement rather than overwhelm the intimacy of a solo show?

Peter played Picasso in a filmed version of the original play by Terry D’alfonso. I felt it would be interesting and add a dimension for the audience to be able to visualize the various women in Picasso’s life and the way they interacted, and to juxtapose this with how he now comes to describe them and how he feels about them. The excerpts add to, not detract from, the solo work.

Which of the two of you first decided to adapt Terri D’Alfonso’s work into a solo performance?

I think it was my suggestion to see if it could be adapted, and Peter knew had seen me perform Under Milk Wood and Animal Farm, both multi character pieces, be they old, young, female, male, animal or child... I felt he could achieve it, but the play needed to lend itself to it. Originally, the language, when put into a solo context, felt stilted, so we loosened that up. But the structure of the original and how Picasso related to the various muses were merely adapted for solo performance.

While working on it, what were you most surprised about when discovering Picasso’s life outside of his work as an artist?

It's very difficult to come to terms with the way he treated women. I knew that he had to have his reasons, however unpalatable they might be, but there are questions to be asked. He claimed that all his muses knew what they were getting into, and that he treated them all well when he was with them. Some of them would certainly dispute that.

What do you hope audiences will be talking about after the leave the theater?

If Picasso had been “cancelled,” could we accept a world without him and his art? He lived a long and fruitful life and was prolific to the end. Many of his muses still worshipped him despite his behavior. Some never forgave him. There’s a lot to talk about!

Thanks to both of you.

Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré is directed by Guy Masterson starring Peter Tate, featuring on-screen performances by Sandra Collodel, Claudia Godi, Margot Sikabonyi, Milena Vukotic previews Thursday, May 7 at 8 p.m., with performances continuing May 8 – May 17 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90025. Free on-site parking.

Tickets run $15-$35, with a $3 fee added for each ticket purchased using a credit card. Buy yours online at OdysseyTheatre.com or by calling (310) 477-2055 ext. 2

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Interview-Peter-Tate-And-Guy-Masterson-of-PICASSO-LE-MONSTRE-SACR-20260505)._