“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.”
(From Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night)
The year is 1904. The place is a nondescript bar in Paris. The name of the bar is Lapin Agile (pronounced la-paan a-zheel, approximately).
The Lapin Agile plays host to many young artists of the day, among whom is a particularly interesting Spanish young man, whose first name, incidentally, is Pablo. (The world would know him, later, by his second name better, which, as it happens, is Picasso.)
So, one evening, in the October of 1904, in the Lapin Agile, another young man, supposedly a scientist, with slightly dishevelled hair (which would become increasingly dishevelled as the century progresses) finds himself in the same bar. He is waiting there, as it turns out, to meet a woman he has promised to meet at the Bar Rouge. His first name happens to be Albert, and many many more generations yet to come would refer, with admiration, to him by his second name: Einstein
What would’ve happened if a young Picasso and a young Einstein had accidentally met at a bar in Paris? Would they have admired each other? Would they have got into an argument about the relative merits of art and science? And if they did, which of the two would have won, art or science? Before either Picasso or Einstein was known for his path-breaking work in his own field, how would they have been perceived by their contemporary world? What set these and such minds apart from their more ordinary counterparts? And how would a time-travelling celebrity visitor from the future have affected the staggering environment already tipsy with a heady mix of art and science?
Come to Alliance Francaise de Bangalore to find for yourself. Treat yourself to an evening full of smiles and laughter; watch the heavyweights of the twentieth century art and science up-close and in their disarming and endearing charm; take a tiny peek into the essence of greatness!
Tahatto presents Steve Martin’s play, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”
- May 7th (Friday) – 8 pm
- May 8th (Saturday) – 4 pm
- May 8th (Saturday) – 7:30 pm
Ticket price: Rs.150/-
For tickets, call 98800 36611 or visit IndianStage. You can also pick up tickets from Landmark in Forum.
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
