As play about gay British artist Derek Jarman comes to Hong Kong, the man behind it shares why it’s among ‘the most enjoyable things’ he’s done
- Derek Jarman was an LGBTQ rights activist in Britain who was demonised in the media. Playwright Mark Farrelly found him intimidating – until he read his diaries
- Inspired, he wrote a one-man play about the avant-garde artist’s life. The actor-playwright talks about its creation as he prepares to perform it in Hong Kong
For decades, Mark Farrelly was intimidated by avant-garde artist Derek Jarman. Now the English playwright and performer is inspired by him, so much so that he wrote an 80-minute no-intermission tribute to him, set to debut in Hong Kong this month after a year of touring Britain.
Farrelly grew up “apprehensive” and “almost scared” of Jarman: “He had this confrontational image that the media in the UK was slightly on a mission to demonise. He was somebody I avoided, to be honest.”
One of his most revered works, Caravaggio (1986), is a stylistic reimagination of the life of the Baroque painter, with bold depictions of homosexual desire, theatrical re-enactments of famous paintings and surrealist disregard for historical accuracy.
It won the Silver Bear for outstanding single achievement at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival.