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Know Before You Go

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Frida…A Self Portrait runs 75 minutes with no intermission.

The taking of photos and video recordings is strictly prohibited.

Late seating and re-entry are at the discretion of house management and are not guaranteed.

Please take a moment to silence your cell phones before the performance begins.

About the Play

  • Frida…A Self Portrait arrives at Writers Theatre for its seventh full-length production, after acclaimed runs in Indianapolis, Rochester, NY, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Portland, OR, and Kansas City.

  • Several of Frida Kahlo's iconic paintings are referenced and evoked in the staging and design of the play, including Frieda and Diego Rivera (1931), The Broken Column (1944), Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress (1926), Memory, the Heart (1937), The Two Fridas (1939), and Self Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940).

  • Severo performed a shorter version of the play several times starting in 2014. A fellowship from Theatre Communications Group allowed her to travel to Mexico City and further research Kahlo's life. Joanie Schultz subsequently began collaborating with Severo as director, and the new full-length version of Frida had its world premiere at Kansas City Repertory Theatre in 2019.

  • "The concept of self-portraiture is such a tricky and blurred presentation today. In a world of selfies, filters and displaying our ‘best lives’ on social media, we have lost the concept of what real expression is. In looking at Frida Kahlo’s self portraits, we find a woman unapologetically showing her pain and her current state of being. It can be uncomfortable and also unnerving for the viewer, yet on the other hand, we see something in ourselves relating to her state of being. When I decided to write Frida...A Self Portrait, I found that I could not just tell her story without telling my own. I had to present my own self portrait in order to honestly connect with hers." - Vanessa Severo, 2022 interview with Cincinnati Playhouse

  • La Casa Azul, the Kahlo family home in Coyacán, Mexico City, Mexico, became the Museo Frida Kahlo in 1958. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico City.