A man covering his face with his hand, standing in red light and mist with an asian restaurant in the background
ROHTKO directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, text & dramaturgy by Anka Herbut, produced by Dailes Theatre. UK premiere at the Barbican Theatre, Thu 2 - Sun 5 Oct 2025. Photo: Artūrs Pavlov
Date
Thursday 02 October 2025 to Sunday 05 October 2025
Location
The Barbican

Trailblazing director Łukasz Twarkowski fuses theatre, tech and live cinema to create a monumentally spectacular production that explores art and authenticity in a fast-changing world.

One of the biggest scandals in the art world lies at the heart of this ground-breaking production. In 2004, a couple bought a painting by Mark Rothko for $8.3 million. Years later, it turns out to be not by Rothko himself, but by a Chinese maths teacher from Queens who also forged works by Jackson Pollock. Can a fake painting evoke real feelings? What is real art and what is it worth? 

With pumping techno beats, two huge video screens and stunning set design, the creators of ROHTKO search for answers, with philosopher Byung-Chul Han's book Shanzhai: Deconstruction in Chinese on the value of real and fake. 

Following his sold-out production The Employees at London’s Southbank Centre in January 2025, this stunning UK premiere is brought to life by Dailes Theatre (Latvia) in collaboration with director Łukasz Twarkowski's close creative team and actors from Latvia, Poland and China.

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UK/Poland Season