The Luncheon of the Boating Party

The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Auguste Renoir (1881) is one of the most popular and much loved paintings of all time. It’s a delightful scene capturing members of a boating party, lunching outside on a balcony on a clear summer day, and is regarded as a classic of Impressionism, evoking a time of laughter, adventure and romance. But who are these people who fill up this vibrant and colourful canvas ? The Luncheon of the Boating Party takes us back to the Maison Fournaise, on the banks of the Seine, for a magical summer weekend in June 1880 and behind the scenes of the creation of one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. The plays tells not one story but many. Firstly it is the story of the birth of a great masterpiece. It is also the story of all the people in the painting and their interconnecting relationships – love triangles, love squared, love cubed. Finally the play is also the story of an artist, increasingly disillusioned with the direction his work is taking and trying to find the courage to head in a new direction. The Luncheon of the Boating Party is an evocative, rich and beautiful play about life, love and art.