Theater
Theater plays inspired by Frida Kahlo's life and art
"LA COLOMBA E L'ELEFANTE", 2025
Directed by Roberto D'Alessandro
Interpreted by Roberto D'Alessandro and Debora Caprioglio
The couple are hosting a reception, and Diego welcomes the audience into the theatre as if he were inviting them into the living room of their home.
Once all the ‘guests’ have taken their seats, Frida will enter.
After a brief introduction and a welcome speech, the couple decide to play a game of truth or dare and answer a series of questions posed by the guests – some of which are rather indiscreet. Frida and Diego will answer these questions, arguing, supporting one another, yet never shying away from the truth.
And so we discover that Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera – nicknamed ‘the elephant’ and ‘the dove’ due to their physical appearances (Diego Rivera was burly and tall, whilst Frida was petite and delicate) – intertwined their lives and art without holding back, blending them with ideals of justice, political struggles and genius. Serving as their backdrop, as an indispensable setting for their story, is a Mexico swept up in one of the greatest revolutions of the 20th century.
What emerges most clearly from this narrative (thanks to a very well-structured text) is, above all, the immense strength of a petite woman who refused to be held back by adversity – so free that she exposed her battered body in her paintings, an icon of resistance and struggle, an inspiring role model for other women, empowering them to be free and to live in unconventional ways without fear of revealing their physical and psychological pain.
"CASA AZUL A cena da Frida… portate la tequila!", December 2025
The idea stems from a powerful image: a dinner at Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo's famous home in Coyoacán, now a museum and a symbol of a life lived in excess of passion, art, and pain. That evening marks the moment when Frida prepares to remarry Diego Rivera, in a second marriage marked by madness, stubbornness, and redemption. In this setting, real yet suspended between memory and imagination, a performance takes shape that blends the layers of biographical narrative, intimate reflection, and theatrical play.
The show opens with the stage still in motion: the curtain is barely open, the technicians are putting the finishing touches in place, the musicians are tuning their instruments, dancers and waitresses are moving distractedly, between jokes and minor stumbles. It is time for the “dress rehearsal”, but also for revelation. The narrator – played by Daniela Del Moro – takes control of the rhythm of the scene, guiding the audience through a fragmented and engaging story made up of words, images and interactions. She calls the protagonists to her, coordinates the unexpected, addresses the spectators as if they were part of the banquet, accomplices, guests.
At the heart of the narrative, Frida Kahlo appears in her many guises: fragile young wife, rebellious artist, pop icon and woman in pain. Her letters, diaries and poignant words – read by Fioretta Mari with irony and depth – intertwine with a world of live music (with Giovanna Famulari on cello and vocals, Gianluca D'Alessio on guitar), physical and evocative choreography (Anna Gargiulo and Francesco Bax), masks and visual works created by Ombretta Luciani, in a visual setting that reflects the kaleidoscopic soul of Frida and her Casa Azul.
The project is led by Daniela Del Moro, art critic and historian, creator and founder of STArt. In her shows, the narration intertwines storytelling, images, historical and sensory references, allowing the audience to get closer to the featured artists through an engaging, refined and accessible language.
"FRIDA", 2025
"Frida Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderòn" combines drama and art,exploring the depths of Frida's soul, amid vibrant colours and dark shadows.
The intensity of Frida's feelings for Diego is expressed on stage through two distinct interpretations of the same character, highlighting the multiple nuances of his personality and the inner turmoil that characterised him. This dualism not only enriches the narrative, but also allows the audience to immerse themselves in the contradictions that marked Frida's life.
The show also explores Frida's broken dreams, such as her unfulfilled desire to become a mother, painting a portrait of pain that coexists with the artist's indomitable spirit.
The show also explores the relationship between Frida and Nickolas Muray, a Hungarian photographer whose colour images of Frida Kahlo reveal a deep understanding of the artist. This visual and personal connection is symbolically represented on stage, showing how Frida and Muray's lives influenced and enriched each other, intertwining art and life in a single breath.
What makes the show even more unique is the contribution of the madrina Brigitta Boccoli and the post-show performance by Mariachi Roma, who enrich the experience by celebrating Mexican folklore and traditions. The music of the mariachis, the true soul of Mexico, blends with projections of photos by Lucienne Bloch, Frida's soul sister, provided by her granddaughter Lucienne Allen Bloch. This fusion of visual and musical arts takes the audience on a multimedia journey that pays tribute to Frida Kahlo and the complex Mexican culture of which she was an integral part.
The show “Frida” is not just a play, but a powerful sign of rebellion against pain and death, echoing Frida's words in their eternal resonance: “VIVA LA VIDA!”. The audience will be invited to perceive not only the suffering but also the vital joy that always accompanied the artist, through a narrative that embraces the grey shades of life.
Premiere at the Golden Theatre in Rome on 16 Oct 2025.
"Frida Kahlo - Il ritratto spezzato", 2025
A theatrical journey into the soul of Frida Kahlo, where her paintings come to life and become words, body, emotion. On stage, Frida herself tells her story: her childhood marked by illness, physical pain, loneliness and rebirth through art. Each scene is inspired by a painting: self-portraits that come to life, symbols that transform into actions. Painting becomes voice, and voice becomes resistance.
On stage the actors Fabio Baronti, Anna Collazzo, Chiara Macinai, Silvia Vettori, accompanied by the live music of the group “El Mariachi el Magnifico de Florencia”, with Beatriz Oyarzabal (voice and vihuela) and Guido Menestrina (voice, guitar and guitarron).
"Tremendamente Frida", 2025
"Frida", 2024
She was a child of the Mexican Revolution who witnessed both personal tragedy and a turbulent and stimulating time in history. At the age of 19, she experienced a serious bus accident that could have killed her.
Her relationship with deconstructed love, her bisexuality, her independence as a woman in a world dominated by men, and, most importantly, her strength are all depicted in this text, which also tells the story of a woman of her time that is obviously relevant to our own.
From the Manufacture des Abbesses Theater website:
" Frida Kahlo became a veritable muse against her will. Beyond her works of art, her face is familiar to everyone and she has become a worldwide inspiration in the world of fashion too. She's on our fridges, on the plant pot in our living rooms, on our teacups, on our shopping bags and even in our children's toy boxes since a doll in her likeness was marketed by Mattel. In short, Frida Kahlo is no longer ‘just’ a painter, she is a veritable icon.
A modern, self-taught and committed painter? In reality, Frida's style is virtually unclassifiable, even if some artists try to pigeonhole her (Surrealist, Modernist)... The artist's style is in fact heterogeneous, meaning that it is made up of several different styles, blended together, producing a unique, original painting whose strength and grandeur resonate with us. An art accessible to all.
Beyond her artistic talent, it's the different facets of her personality that arouse admiration and adoration for this woman.
To understand this craze, we have to go back to 1960, to the dawn of feminism. At that time, women were rebelling and discovering Frida Kahlo. Her avant-garde approach to sexuality made her a symbol, particularly for the LGBTQ community. It was in the 80s and 90s that she rose to prominence and became what Vanity Fair described as ‘a politically correct heroine for every wounded minority’.
Decades later, Frida continues to exist, inspiring desire and hope as she breaks away from the overly perfect image of the modern woman. In the age of body positivity and all the movements that praise bodies and self-acceptance, Frida Kahlo seems to be the ultimate reference point. However, it was enough for me to ask people from all generations who had nothing but praise for this woman to realise that, apart from her unibrow, most people knew nothing about her."
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"D.U.S.E. Donne Uniche Semplicemente Extraordinarie", 2024
In the performance, the two artists lead the audience by the hand to discover how artistic expression, be it theatre or painting, unites us as human beings. On the notes of the Trio Lescano, the Gramatica sisters, young actresses who grew up side by side with the Divina, tell and sing about art and life, offering a personal and transversal point of view. A parade of masked characters, more or less well-known, presents a woman out of the ordinary: loved, acclaimed and applauded. From scenes with Isadora Duncan, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Giuseppe Verdi, to literature with Arrigo Boito, Gabriele D'Annunzio and Matilde Serao, the loves, friendships, sorrows, vicissitudes and extraordinary success of Eleonora Duse emerge. A tribute to women who challenged the limits of their time, shaping art and culture with their own extraordinary vision.
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"Hasta siempre Frida", 2023
"After entire seasons in comedy, becoming Frida Kahlo was one of the most intense experiences of my career. Putting aside the fact that there is no such thing as a 'comic' or 'dramatic' actor, entering Frida's tortured body, broken heart, lacerated soul, and at the same time her unbreakable strength, allowed me to plumb even deeper my own being as a woman and an artist, at times misunderstood' - said Danila Stalteri in explaining her investigation of the character - 'Even I in my small theatrical world am sometimes seen as a mad and visionary woman, and like Frida I too am fuelled by an indescribable passion for my art. One cannot help but love Frida and come to know her even more deeply and pay homage to her in the theatre!"
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"To DIE:GO in Leaves by Frida Kahlo", 2023
In the Cara Mía Theatre's production "To DIE: GO in Leaves by Frida Kahlo" two actresses plays the role of Frida Kahlo. Each Maryam Baig and Frida Espinosa Müller interpretation of Kahlo is unique. Müller has translated Baig's 2003 original play into Spanish, nearly 20 years after Baig first wrote it. Despite the fact that the two women were born on opposite sides of the world, they connected with Kahlo.
The theme of juggling several identities as a gender-fluid, mixed-race individual with impairments is frequently explored in Kahlo's artwork. Because to the fact that the character is being played by two women, Baig and Müller may express Kahlo's diversity through their own viewpoints and experiences.
“I was trying to feel her in my own body and in my own life and see what I might have done at that age,” she said. It was a way for Baig to “grasp this larger than life icon.”
Since 2005, Müller has performed at the Cara Mía Theatre and contributes her own perspective to Baig's creative works. Like Baig, Müller turned to Kahlo's journals for inspiration after translating the play. In the end, she included snippets from the artist's journals and letters to the script.
Similar to the painter, Müller is a mestiza with German, Spanish, and indigenous ancestry who was born and reared in Mexico City. Similar like Frida Kahlo, one branch of her family hails from Oaxaca, and the two even have the same first name. Müller was accustomed to hearing her father declare, "I have my two Fridas," the name of her mother.
“We hear her own way to put together words and ideas, which I think is very beautiful and very unique,” Müller said.
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"Frida Kahlo: a ribbon around the bomb", 2023
Frida is in the first instance a woman who loves and is able to fight for art and politics, a woman who goes against conventions, dynamic, full of energy, fighting against her destiny but above all able to deal with pain. As the artist tells her story, from the accident that scarred her forever to her difficult and intense relationship with Diego Rivera, we can understand how her pain is universal and affects everyone. Her uniqueness lies precisely in this: managing to transform pain into a creative act. Not succumbing to evil but living, laughing, imagining.
On stage there will be two representations of Frida Kahlo: one narrating through words, the other through music. The protagonist will oscillate between two worlds: the dreamlike one of her feelings and the concrete one of narration. These two voices construct the plot of a single life. Through the use of objects and shadow plays, one will get the feeling that the two Fridas are not alone but accompanied by different characters, the same ones that marked and determined her life.
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"Frida, a bomb wrapped in a silk ribbon", 2022
Frida Kahlo was a clear example of the women strength, an icon of emancipation and affirmation. Herwords were a shattering echo, a tangible sign of a force that overcame all physical and spiritual pain thanks to her subversive, inexhaustible and explosive love for life.
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"Viva la Vida - Frida Kahlo e Chavela Vargas", October 2020
It is an exciting show, full of suggestions, allowing people to immerse themselves in the fascinating history, between art and life, of two extraordinary women.
Frida Kahlo is 18 years old when a bus handrail pierces her back during an accident. She risks dying, but she manages to survive and is forced to stay in bed for months. It is then that she begins to paint, starting to portray herself, the only subject she can see, reflected on a mirror on the ceiling. This is the starting point of her story to Chavela Vargas, mythical Mexican singer, in a poetic and visionary journey that, interweaving music and theater, leads us into the life of one of the most charismatic figures of Mexican culture. From her love with Diego Rivera, whom she herself called "the second serious accident" in her life, to the revolutionary years and her relationship with Trotsky.
When they were alive, the two artists already aroused curiosity and interest. Frida, the painter, still magnetizes us now for her beauty and pride, for the poetic nature of her clothing, for her surprising art, for her flaming political faith, for her turbulent love affairs: from her husband Diego Rivera (married, divorced, remarried) to the liaison with Trotsky, plus some female "digressions". Chavela also had a costume to face the world scene: the poncho and when she died it was that poncho that her immense admirers who filled the church and the streets wanted to be placed on her coffin.
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"Viva la Vida", March 2020
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"Viva la Vida", 2020
A fulminating monologue that traces the sufferings of Frida Khalo's forced imprisonment, the lucid artistic delusions of a painter hungry for life and color. The fiery synthesis of a full and tormented existence, the parable of a great painter from the extreme summit of her days.On stage Pamela Villoresi describes the voracity with which Frida Kahlo devoured herself. Consumed by physical pain, Frida clings with all her life, in an intimate monologue based on the inner strength of this woman, on the passion for art, for Mexico, for all human relationships lived with impetus and intensity.
aspect of Frida Khalo, through a symbolisms that recall its multicultural and ethnic roots, going beyond
the biographical narration and bringing out the soul of Frida woman, Mexican, painter and revolutionary".
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"Frida ... a Self Portrait", 2019
by and with Vanessa Severo
Severo has worked on Frida for several years, researching the artist after a friend said he saw Kahlo in her (“even without the unibrow,” Severo says). She has continued to explore Kahlo’s life — including a trip to her Casa Azul, or Blue House, in Mexico City, the home her father built and which she says made her a painter — and to hone this 75-minute piece (first produced in 2014 at the Living Room Theatre).
“Frida was a woman ahead of her time — rebellious, openly bisexual, brave, angry, bold, unapologetic and honest about it,” Severo said. “I wanted to bring Frida into today, and I wanted women to walk away knowing that today is a good day for your voice to be heard.”
In 2019 she represented her Kahlo interpretation, directed by Joanie Schultz, at OriginKC, KC Rep’s New Works Festival.
"A mixture of humor, pathos, biography and personal experience, Frida is a nonlinear montage, fluidly pieced together with monologue, dance, music (composer Thomas Dixon), movement (consultant Stephanie Rae Roberts), costumes (Katherine Davis), props, and the script’s many distinctive voices. Those voices include not just Kahlo’s but also those of Kahlo’s father; her lover and husband, muralist Diego Rivera; a doctor; and Severo herself, who juxtaposes her own personal search into Kahlo with the story she tells. “In order to tell her story, I had to tell mine,” she says in the play’s program notes." from Thepitch article
Read here the interesting review by KC Studio.
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"Frida Kahlo", 2019
with Titti Nuzzolese and Peppe Romano
directed by Mirko Di Martino (Artistic Director of the independent Italian theatre TRAM Teatro, Ricerca, Arte e Musica)
assistant director Angela Grimaldi
production Teatro dell’Osso 2018/2019
"I never painted dreams. I painted my reality ”, repeated Frida Kahlo several times. Our show starts from this sentence to tell a private, authentic and painful, moving and truthful portrait of Frida: not the icon of art and fashion, but the woman, the real Frida, the Mexican Frida of the first mid-century. The intense interpretation of Titti Nuzzolese, flanked by Peppe Romano as Diego Rivera, draws a portrait of Frida far from the recurring hagiography of the "great unfortunate artist", of the woman "in love with her man". Frida was much more than this and, in a certain sense, much less: she was a woman who managed to impose a public image different from the private one, an artist who developed her style slowly and even unconsciuonlsy in a certain way. Mirko Di Martino's dramaturgy, attentive to documents and testimonies, highlights Frida's complex personality, in which conflicting ideas and feelings coexisted: she wanted to show herself to the public as a free and revolutionary woman, but in private she remained closed in the role of the devoted wife who endures everything; she wanted to be an established painter, but she renounced offering her works to the public."
Taken from the TRAM website.
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"Frida - Stroke of Passion", 2019
16/02/2019 - Written and starred by Odalys Nanin, Director of Macha Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA.
This play, written and starred by Odalys Nanin - Director of Macha Theatre, explores the mental, emotional and physical conditions during the last week of Frida Kahlo's life. Exposing her love affairs with famous Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, dancer Josephine Baker, Mexican diva Maria Felix, Leon Trotsky, a Cuban spy and her complex passionate love for Diego Rivera. It would peel away the secret cover up and reveal what or who killed Frida Kahlo.
The show is playing from 8th to 23rd February 2019 at Macha Theatre, Casa 0101, 2102E. 1st Street, Los Angeles 90033.
"Nanin embodies the spirit of Frida in a nuanced performance and transformational portrayal. Sandra Valls stands out as the famous Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, and one of Frida’s lovers.
As Frida’s life comes to an end so does the play with an unforgettable wake and procession that will stay with you long after the play has ended. Chavela is there to honor Frida with accented her beautifully haunting song as the cast of characters in Frida’s live all pay tribute to an icon in the art world, who inspired a nation by representing their culture, while bold examining the issues of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society.
The small procession of Frida’s funeral attended by all her loves, beginning with her “Toad Face” Diego Rivera (Oscar Basulto). Also joining in are Frida’s other lovers Tina Modotti (Mantha Balourdou); Josephine Baker (Ebony Perry); Maria Felix (Marjorie Burgos); Cuban Teresa Proenza (Kesia Elwin); and her Nurse Judith (Tricia Cruz)." (taken from Latinheat Entertainment)
Check out here the website of Macha Theatre for more info.
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"Frida Kahlo - Viva la Vida", 2018
see images at the right side column.
with Elisa Ranucci
directed by Beppe Ranucci
production Pilar Ternera
"Frida Kahlo. Viva la vida!”, is a monologue freely taken and reworked from the book by Pino Cacucci “Viva la vida!".
We all know more or less the story of Frida Kahlo, but breathing it in a theater makes it as real and raw as it actually was. Through her interpretation, the actress makes us relive the anguish and artistic strength of the painter, who relives in the text, costumes, monologues and paintings projected on stage. A dramatic, romantic and historical show at the same time. Exciting for art lovers and surprising for viewers who approach her life for the first time. The background music takes us back to Mexico where the actress has found life and artistic inspiration. The inner monologues that take voice through the actress touch on the highlights of Frida Kahlo's life.
The actress tells us about the accident that marked her life forever, the impossibility of having a normal life, her mad love for the artist Diego Riveira and the raw pain of not being able to crown her love with a son, her betrayals, the betrayal of her sister to whom she was very close and the unbridgeable need for art as a world in which to take refuge. The actress gives life to all this, bringing to life in some way not only the personality of Frida Kahlo but also that of the people who have marked her life. The show gives us a complete vision of the tormented life of the Mexican painter and at the same time leaves the audience a hymn to life whatever happens in the course of existence.
The songs of Chavela Vargas highlight the salient moments of the whole show.
Taken from Pilar Ternera Production website (Italian)
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"Frida K. Vita di merda con pittura", 2018
1/02/2018 - Text by Serena Nardi taken from Frida Kahlo's writings
directed by Serena Nardi
with Sarah Collu and Serena Nardi
choreographies Lara Guidetti
video Vittorio Bizzi
original music by Alessandro Cerea
scenes and costumes Officine Red Carpet Theater
production Odd Days Theater
Director's notes
Frida and Death. The text and the staging start from here. As Artaud headlines: "The theater and its double". Because there is a continuous and inexorable double in the life of Frida Khalo.
Frida and Frida
Frida and Pain
Frida and Diego
Frida and the Son never born
Frida and White
Frida and Silence
Frida and Death....
The show went on stage at the Teatro Libero in Milan from 1 to 6 February 2018, coinciding with the great exhibition "Frida Kahlo. Beyond The Myth" at MUDEC.
Check out here the website of Teatro Libero for more info (in Italian)
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"Vertigine di colore" (Turmoil of colours), 2015
see image at the right side column.
by Antonio Spagnuolo, based on an idea by Luciana Renzetti
directed and performed by Adriana Carli
“The turmoil of colours surrounds a passionate love every day, one that runs deep in the thoughts and actions, in the flesh and in the artwork of a woman particularly marked by fate. The song of poetry then becomes a frenetic melody, rhythmic music, verging on anguish and paradox, due to the intensity of her emotions. The return to the stage, in Adriana Carli’s luminous performance, follows in the footsteps of a cultural initiative that has already sparked enthusiasm and keen engagement in portraying the painter’s mystical life, now that all nations are commemorating her.” Antonio Spagnuolo
A title that also seeks to allude to the emotional, philosophical and religious turmoil of the ‘two Fridas’: the one documented through writings, photographs and paintings, and the one that can be sensed beyond her gazes, her statements, her courage and her audacity. Two personalities that do not conflict, do not battle, do not exclude one another, do not compensate one another, but coexist with the natural ease typical of those forced to achieve what they want by taking impassable, provocative and irreverent paths.
Just as in life, so too in the play, the character of Diego Rivera, played by the actor Franco Javarone, is ever-present. The audience will encounter him in the half-light and hear his reflections on his Frida, which at times take on a journalistic detachment.
More info at this link (in Italian).
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"Viva la Vida - Le due Frida", 2014
22/12/2014 - Theatrical adaptation by Lucia Mattei of Viva la Vida! by Pino Cacucci
The show went on stage at the Teatro dell'Orologio in Rome in the 2013/2014 season, coinciding with the great exhibition dedicated to Frida at Le Scuderie del Quirinale.
Strongly supported by the Institute of Italian Culture in Mexico and the Museo Frida Kahlo "Casa Azul", the show was also represented last April in Coyoacan, Mexico City.
Viva la
