When Vincent Met John is a historical encounter few could have anticipated. The concept of this play is uniquely intriguing. Vincent van Gogh and John Lennon’s multiverse overlap when they wake up in the same room: Van Gogh finds himself in 1886, while Lennon has awoken in 1974. The century between them means Lennon is familiar with Van Gogh, but not vice versa. Beyond being world-class artists, both share the unfortunate fate of dying from a gunshot, although neither has yet met their end in their respective timelines.
Uniquely intriguing
What immediately stands out is the likeness the actors capture of these two historical figures through costuming, accents, props and mannerisms. The play is 90 minutes long, but only 60 minutes are being shown at the Fringe, so it's unfair to judge its resolution too harshly. It is a circular play, and nothing really happens in it.
Lennon is portrayed as paranoid, constantly feeling that people want something from him, and he relentlessly accuses Van Gogh of lying about not knowing who he is and having ulterior motives. Meanwhile, Van Gogh simply wants to use Lennon as a life model to practice his sketches. As it stands, their dialogue felt like a breakdown in communication. The characters don't really change much, and I wondered what kind of conversation they might have had if they had asked each other what date they thought it was. Perhaps embracing this mysterious event could have led to some interesting exchanges between these two creatives. Although they do briefly touch on the meaning of art and what art is, the play ultimately serves to plant the question: what if these two had actually met?
