'Vincent' opens Friday at The Acting Company

Directed by Pat Hill, "Vincent" is a one-man play based on letters written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother, Theo. Chris Collier stars as Theo, who engages the audience in an examination of the tortured artist's life. "Vincent" opens Friday and runs through June 17 at The Acting Company in Yuba City.

"It's an intimate portrait of Vincent told through the letters that he wrote to his brother, Theo, over a period of 10 years," Hill said. "Along with the letters are many, many slides — over 100 slides — (showing) works by van Gogh throughout his life.

"It's a dramatic and poignant, very intimate story told by his brother who was responsible for keeping Vincent alive monetarily during his years as an artist," she said.

Hill said The Acting Company is running two plays this summer: "Vincent" and also "Stones in His Pockets," so each production will be staged for two weeks only. "We've lowered the ticket prices for the two plays — only $10 each — so that helps out with the pocketbook, too. These are two plays that you will really want to see," she said.

Hill said Vincent van Gogh wasn't earning any money through his painting, so Theo, who was an art dealer, supported Vincent financially even although he only sold one of Vincent's paintings in his lifetime.

"A lot of people thought Vincent was crazy. You know — he cut off his ear; he must be a madman. But he suffered from epilepsy, and back in the 1800s, people didn't understand epilepsy, and if they didn't understand something like that, they threw them in the insane asylum," Hill said.

"But that's where Vincent did some of his best work because people left him alone. He became calmer, he felt safe and did some of his best work," she added.

Hill said Vincent created more than 200 paintings in the last year of his life. He died at age 37.

"Working with just one actor is a challenge as well as a little easier than working with a cast of 30. The challenge is to pull everything from one actor that you want the show to depict. Chris Collier does a wonderful job of that. He's a seasoned performer and does an excellent job. I'm really proud of him," Hill said.

"The play was written by Leonard Nimoy — yes, Mr. Spock (from 'Star Trek') — and he also acted in the play several years ago. So I encourage you to come see our version. If there's one play to see this summer, it's 'Vincent'," Hill said.

CONTACT Susan Benitez at sbenitez@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4773. Find her on Facebook at /ADFeatures or on Twitter at @adfeatures.