Oxford Festival of the Arts - Tableaux Vivants - Caravaggio

Featuring 3 performances at 16.30, 18.30 and 20.30 and based on the tableaux vivants technique, this theatrical performance is a work of great visual impact heightened by extreme simplicity in its production created by Ludovica Rambelli, as part of a project by the Luigi Vanvitelli Faculty of Architecture, based in the sixteenth-century cloister of the splendid abbey of San Lorenzo in Fasano, in the province of Brindisi, Italy.

Twenty-three of Caravaggio’s best canvases will be recreated by the actors, using only their bodies and a few props, such as draped fabrics and other everyday objects. In accordance with Caravaggio’s distinct compositional style, a single stream of light illuminates the scene, working as an imaginary frame, imbuing each visual composition with raw naturalism. The changes are all en plain air and rhythmically punctuated by the music of Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Sibelius.  It is an extraordinary opportunity to watch the Baroque master’s art literally come to life in seamless transition between frame-to-frame, capturing the intense physicality evident in Caravaggio’s work. The result is exquisite and poignant. The eight players have clearly devoted much thought to the emotional life of each character they embody, sustaining the moment with great focus and determination.