ART is just the sort of theatre work that we need right now. It’s funny; it makes you laugh; it cheers you up if you’re feeling down – all those good things. And even if that’s all it does, then that’s perfectly okay.
Luckily, it does a little more than that because it also raises the question of what keeps long-term friendships going, and whether people should recognise when the use-by date has well and truly passed. No doubt, at some point, we’ve all wondered why we’re still friends with someone we’ve known forever, even though we’ve evolved in such different ways that there barely seems to be anything in common anymore.
The award-winning ART was written by French playwright Yasmina Reza in 1994 (translated by Christopher Hampton). The setting has been maintained as Paris, with references to such things as euros and the Pompidou gallery. It’s hard to see why it hasn’t been transplanted into an Australian backdrop. Perhaps because some of the material seems slightly dated, the decision was made to keep its historical and geographical integrity intact. One can make allowances for a few lines that might’ve seemed part of the zeitgeist 30 years ago, but which haven’t weathered well.
After a successful Sydney season, three prodigious actors grace the stage in this production at Brisbane’s Playhouse. Richard Roxburgh seems to be channelling his hit TV series alter-ego, Rake, in his role as the obnoxious and opinionated Marc. All of the Rake-esque mannerisms and gestures come into play, which the audience seems to relish. Roxburgh himself seems to be having a ball.
At the start of the play, Marc visits his friend, Serge (Damon Herriman – also a TV star from shows such as Mr. In Between and an AACTA Award winner for his role in the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man). Marc is appalled to learn that Serge has bought a painting for 160,000 euros. The main reason for his ire? The painting seems to be plain white. There’s nothing to see. It could be a blank canvas and on stage it is, indeed, represented by a blank canvas. So, sets off a debate about what art is, the value of particular types of art, and whether it can be seen as morally reprehensible to spend that sort of money on what some would consider a joke.
Into the mix comes a third friend, Yvan (Toby Schmitz – Boy Swallows Universe, Gaslight). Seemingly brow-beaten and dressed in a baggy tracksuit and sneakers, he’s the peacemaker of the trio. Or is he just weak and unwilling to say what he really thinks? He doesn’t judge that Serge’s painting is such a stretch, which enrages Marc even more.
The conversation about the painting soon descends into an argument about other aspects of their friendship, with attacks and counter-attacks threatening to blow everything apart. One stand-out sequence occurs when Schmitz gives a rambling, verbose account of the nightmare he’s dealing with in the lead-up to his wedding, and how his hated stepmother is making his life a misery.
Directed by Lee Lewis – former Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre – and with sparse but an imposing set design by Charles Davis, ART is a well-honed production in which the three actors embrace the opportunity to give their all.
Ninety minutes without interval, ART is on the Playhouse, QPAC until 22nd March. It next heads to Melbourne and then Adelaide.
Vicki Englund
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- L’Appartement: Chaos in the City of Love (QT) – theatre review
- The Woman in Black (QPAC and touring) – theatre review
- The Great Gatsby, at QPAC Playhouse – theatre review
Vicki Englund is a film, TV and theatre reviewer, a credited TV screenwriter on shows including The Bureau of Magical Things and Home and Away, and a film screenwriter with several projects in development. She was the daily TV reviewer for The Courier Mail for 11 years and has reviewed films and TV for Rave Magazine, Time Off, The Courier Mail and Daily Review.