By Jasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Tuesday 9th to Saturday 13th September At 7.45pm
Yasmina Reza’s dazzling hit comedy about friendship and what happens when your closest friend does something totally unexpected.
Serge buys a modern painting for a huge sum of money. His friend Marc hates it and cannot believe a friend of his could possibly want such a work. Their hapless friend, Yvan, does his best to placate both sides.
The question is: are you who you think you are, or are you who your friends think you are?
The play enlivens the perennial debate about good and bad art by exploring its themes through a rift between friends – making it invigorating, touching and finally disturbing.
First performed in France in 1994, ‘Art’ received the Moliere Award for best play, and ran for 18 months at the Comedie des Champs-Elysees.
Subsequently given a sparkling translation by Christopher Hampton, ‘Art’ opened at the Wyndhams Theatre in 1996 and received the Evening Standard award for Best Comedy of the Year.
The opening production starred Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott but good actors can sniff out good parts and there were many cast changes during the subsequent lengthy run as the cream of British acting vied to be cast. |
