Minotauromachy
Written by Joanna Wiley; Directed by Liadin Stewart
Chain Theater Studio | 312 W 36th St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10010
April 10th 15th, 19th and 19th
Theatre festivals are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
The FRIGID Festival reflects approximately 65 shows will run in rep at 5 different venues. Shows will run a bit under an hour. There will be one-acts and bits of longer works in progress; dramas, comedies and musicals.
There’s a palpable buzz in the waiting area. Gaga pumps through the speakers as we’re ushered into the space—immediately, we know we’re not entering a traditional theatrical experience. We’re stepping into a confrontation.
Making her Off-Broadway directorial debut, Liadin Sinclair stages Joanna Wiley’s passion project, Minotauromachy with bold, unflinching clarity. The play centers not on Picasso himself, but on the women who shaped—and were shaped by—him: Fernande, Olga, Marie-Thérèse, Dora, Françoise, and Jacqueline. They are embodied powerfully by Julie Thérond, Mariela Rivero, Chelsea Clark, Megan Boehmcke, Savanna La Selva, and Jadé Porciatti.
Picasso famously had an obsession with the minotaur—a violent half-man, half-beast from Greek mythology, trapped in a labyrinth and fed maidens. In many of his works, the minotaur represents himself, a symbol of his inner turmoil, unrestrained desire, and descent into darkness. The play smartly parallels this image with his real-life relationships: women who satisfied him—until they didn’t.
Sinclair’s staging places the six women in a semi-circle, each engaged in acts of creation: sketching, photographing, shaping art that could easily have stood on its own. They stand on a silver platform that double as pedestals and confessionals—part support, part witness stand. At times, the performance morphs into a kind of panel discussion: a support group for survivors of genius.
Here, they recount their stories not to glorify Picasso, but to reclaim space in a history that often dismissed or devoured them. These were brilliant women in their own right—artists, thinkers, muses—whose lives were overshadowed, shortened, or reshaped by the man who claimed to love them.
Minotauromachy doesn’t try to redeem its subject. Instead, it dismantles him—and the systems that allowed his exploitation to masquerade as genius. It’s not about Picasso. It’s about the women who survived him, challenged him, and in some cases, outshone him.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Malini Singh McDonald.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on April 11th, 2025. All rights reserved.