The story of Art is this: a wealthy, sophisticated white man buys a very expensive white painting, and his wealthy, sophisticated white friend is very upset about it. A third guy, more goofy than sophisticated but no less white, joins them and is the butt of all their jokes. This is Yasmina Reza’s award-winning 1994 comedy that still gets staged everywhere, all the time, and is in Halifax, again.
In theory, the premise of the play is not a bad one. It could be fodder for a clever satire of art and money, but Reza doesn’t strive for that. Instead, the dialogue is slick and funny and begs for juicy performances, but underneath it all is a trio of deplorable, and then quickly boring, characters having a single, lengthy argument about nothing at all. It amounts to a pissing match between three friends, with no stakes or heart, just winning and losing for the sake of it. Reza’s script is not nearly self-aware enough for this to be tolerable for long.
And to be clear, the white painting at the centre of the play could be countless other things. The fact that it’s a painting at all, and the play is called Art, is a part of its infuriating brilliance. It could be called Car or House or Job. Here, the painting is just another marker of status. Or, anything that will get three guys to argue and berate each other about worth and ownership for 80 minutes. It’s a shame the play creates this framework with no interest in addressing it in any meaningful way.
All told, Art has little to say about art, or even about male friendship. It’s a stale story with a glossy finish. There was a recent production in Edmonton, another at the Old Vic in London, and it’s sure to appear in upcoming season announcements near and far. Please, for the sake of an entire world of stories out there, put this play to rest.
Art
Written by Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by George Pothitos
Runs until June 4th
Neptune Theatre
$30-46
This article appears in May 18-24, 2017.
Was the intention of this article to review Neptune’s production of Art? Or just to voice an opinion about a script written 20 years ago? If it’s the latter, the title and photo are quite misleading.
How was this production different, or not, from other productions? Were there any details that were positive? Negative? Who is in it? What was your opinion of their performance, viewed objectively from the material so clearly analysed. How was the set, the lighting, the sound, the direction?
More is said here about the Old Vic production than Neptune’s.
Based on what’s written here, I have to assume that Mr. Lake did not attend Neptune’s production, but decided to write the article anyway. I’d done a similar thing in junior high when I hadn’t read the material for my book report. I did not get a passing grade in that case, either.
Thank you for writing such a necessary review. I have found myself leaving show after show at the Neptune in utter frustration at their choice of programming, and I am not surprised that they have chosen a show like this over some local talent with something important to say. I just wish the Neptune would consider the gravitas of their role as a curator of the arts more seriously, rather than thinking about popularity and profits. And I bet they would sell out more shows that way too.