Double Portrait: Finding Frances Hodgkins

This Handstand Production, written by Jan Bolwell, tells the story of what happens when a Parisian gallery owner comes across a stash of Frances Hodgkins paintings.

Part of a deceased estate, they land on the doorstep of a gallery owner who has never heard of the artist. He contacts Auckland Art Gallery and there is a flurry of activity as a female curator tries to prise them out of the hands of the Frenchman and back to New Zealand .

Based upon a real life incident, this is the opening scene of Jan Bolwell's new play - Double Portrait: Finding Frances Hodgkins. Interest in the life and art of Frances Hodgkins has grown through the years. The celebrated New Zealand artist spent most of her adult life in Europe with brief forays back to New Zealand to promote her work and to see her family.

Her private life remained an enigma and in Double Portrait, playwright Jan Bolwell seeks to unravel some of the mystery. Hodgkins' life was filled with eccentricity, hardship, fun and love. She travelled extensively from Morocco to Paris to Cornwall; from Melbourne and Sydney to Dunedin and Wellington .

Bolwell's play explores the relationships she had with friends, agents and family. The play is shot through with humour and pathos, speculation and information.

Double Portrait: Finding Francis Hodgkins will play at Titirangi Theatre on October 2 and 3. The play is part of the theatre season for the Going West Books and Writers Festival 2010.