The paintings of Hieronymus Bosch predated the Salvador Dali and Max Ernst t by over three hundred years. Yet Bosch’s whimsical, terrifying world of imaginary monsters, sinners and angels is nothing if not surrealistic. His influence continues to be felt in modern illustration and his pictures have provided inspiration for performance pieces such as choreographer Martha Clarke’s The Garden Of Earthly Delights. Yet when it comes to Bosch the man, little seems to be known. The program for La Mama’s new bio-drama doesn’t explain how playwright/director Nic Ularu went about researching his subject. Whether drawn from documents or from imagination, though, Hieronymus rings true and paints an empathic, lively portrait of Bosch’s life and times.
We meet Bosch, played by Paul Kauffman, in mid career. He has attained some notoriety and enjoys a lusty relationship with his frisky wife Aleid, played by Jen Burry. Hieron’s happiness is soon compromised, though, as both his marriage and his aesthetics clash with the social climate of the village. Local clerics object to the painter's depictions of naked crowds, sows in nun’s habits, and fanciful man-beast mutations. To make matters worse, Bosch’s brother Goossen, played by Paul Kelly, is as fond of drink as he is of spreading rumors (not entirely unfounded) about Aleid‘s sexual impropriety. The scandals threaten to sink Bosch’s career until his wealthy father-in-law intervenes. Goyarts Van Meervene, played by James Jennings. Sounding a bit like a mafia chieftain Goyarts suggests that Hieron join the The Brotherhood of Our Lady in order to ingratiate himself to potential patrons. Goossen will be, well, “taken care of”. Pressures increase yet again when one of Bosch’s two apprentices comes down with the Black Plague. Fearing infection, Bosch isolates himself, even shunning Aleid’s company, and putrefying his studio with disease-repelling garlic. Randy as ever, Aleid refuses to stay unfulfilled for long, and turns her attention to a healthier apprentice, played by Ryan Krause . Hieronymus finds himself at odds with seemingly everyone in his world. Yet throughout it all, he keeps painting, his head filled with imagined inquisitions and apocalyptic visions that demand to be released.
Ularu finds inventive ways of bringing Bosch’s work on stage. Simon Tarr’s video design project details of his paintings on a scrim, and a few tableaus are acted out with the aid of Lisa Martin Stuart’s faithful costumes and Aaron Pelzek’s and colorful props. Wisely, though, these fanciful touches are used sparingly, and mores stage time is devoted to the artist’s strained relationships rather than his more internal creative process. Kaufmann movingly portrays Bosch as a weary but driven visionary, destined to be both gloriously and an exasperatingly out of step with the times. The supporting cast, especially Burry, is by turns comic and wistful as they fight a losing battle to save the protagonist from himself. Their efforts will be appreciated by Bosch fans and by the Neofabulist painters for whom he serves as a beacon. For the uninitiated Hieronymus will provide a provocative introduction to the painter Carl Jung called “The master of the monstrous... the discoverer of the unconscious.”
Hieronymus; Written & Directed by Nic Ularu; La Mama ETC The Club; 74 E 4th St; New York, NY 10003; (212) 254-6468
