Picasso, Occupied Paris, and Three Mysterious Paintings: A Picasso Comes to Bellevue
Paris, 1941.
The city is occupied by Nazi Germany.
Pablo Picasso—already one of the most famous and controversial artists in the world—has remained in Paris.
Then he is summoned.
That is where Jeffrey Hatcher’s A Picasso begins.
This October, Theatre33 brings Hatcher’s intimate two-character drama to Bellevue for seven performances from October 16–25, 2026.
But what makes this play unusual isn’t simply that Picasso is its central character.
It’s the question waiting for him when he enters the room:
Are these paintings really his?
Three paintings. One dangerous question.
Picasso is confronted by Miss Fischer, a German cultural attaché, and asked to authenticate three works attributed to him.
On the surface, the task seems straightforward.
Look at the paintings. Decide whether they’re genuine. Give an answer.
But in occupied Paris, even the truth can have consequences.
What follows is not a conventional biographical portrait of Picasso. A Picasso puts two people in a room and allows the balance of power between them to shift as questions of authenticity, politics, identity, compromise and the value of art collide.
It is part historical drama, part psychological duel.
And at its center is an idea that still feels remarkably contemporary:
Who gets to decide what art is worth?
Picasso in occupied Paris
Picasso really did remain in Paris during the German occupation of France.
His modernist work was at odds with Nazi cultural ideology, which condemned many forms of modern art as “degenerate.”
That historical reality gives Hatcher’s fictional encounter its pressure.
The play doesn’t require you to know Picasso’s biography or art history before walking into the theatre. But if you do know something about Picasso—the enormous ego, the fame, the mythology surrounding him—it adds another layer to the confrontation.
Because Miss Fischer isn’t simply dealing with an artist.
She’s dealing with Picasso.
And Picasso knows it.
An intimate night of theatre in Bellevue
A Picasso is performed by just two actors: Christophe Peyras as Pablo Picasso and Ines Kreitlein as Miss Fischer, directed by Greg Loproto.
There are no armies crossing the stage and no sprawling recreation of wartime Paris.
The battle happens across a table.
For audiences who enjoy intimate, actor-driven theatre, history, art, psychological drama, or simply watching two intelligent characters attempt to outmaneuver one another, A Picasso offers a very different kind of night at the theatre.
See A Picasso at Theatre33
Jeffrey Hatcher’s A PICASSO runs October 16–25, 2026 at Theatre33 in Bellevue, Washington.
Performance dates
October 16 — 7 PM
October 17 — 7 PM
October 18 — 2 PM
October 22 — 7 PM
October 23 — 7 PM
October 24 — 7 PM
October 25 — 2 PM
Frequently Asked Questions
When is A Picasso playing in Bellevue?
A Picasso runs October 16–25, 2026, at Theatre33 in Bellevue, Washington.
Who wrote A Picasso?
A Picasso is a play by Jeffrey Hatcher.
What is A Picasso about?
The play imagines an encounter in occupied Paris in which Pablo Picasso is asked by a German cultural attaché to authenticate three paintings attributed to him.
Where is Theatre33?
Theatre33 is located at 13243 NE 20th St in Bellevue, Washington.
How much are tickets?
Tickets for A Picasso are $35.
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