A complex look into friendship that is both funny and heart wrenching. Rating
Excellent
Art is Yasmina Reza’s most acclaimed play, telling of the unravelling of a friendship after a particularly egregious purchase. This French work was translated into English in 1996 and has been played at both the West End and Broadway. Now, Hatoda Productions brings it back to London at Etcetera Theatre. At the very core of the play is the friendship between Serge (Harry Dillon), Marc (Dan Daniels) and Yvan (Tom Terry), which was established so long ago that it doesn’t fit who these men are anymore. It’s tragic to see a friendship unravel in such a manner, but comedic in the way all three are grasping at the straws of their dissolving bond (mostly by putting Yvan in the middle of it all).
The three actors manage to handle the drama and the comedy, navigating both moods and jumping from one to the other in a seamless manner. Dillon’s Serge is the perfect socially ambitious man, with a certain air of unintentional snobbery in his every word. Daniels’ Marc exudes a general annoyance at the world, having a constant sense of intentional nastiness. Daniels does, though, manage to reveal Marc’s hidden insecurities slowly before the end, making the audience sympathetic to the character. Yvan, played by Terry, is the comedic heart of the story, as well as the most relatable performance. His introduction is the most charming of them all, his struggles the more relatable, and Terry has a knack for physical comedy that is very sympathetic to the material. The three of them work extremely well together, portraying conversations that seem natural in tone and speed. There is an underlying tension in every interaction that slowly builds up until it inevitably explodes, and all three contribute to it in equal measure. There is no single star, but rather a trio that bolsters each other to achieve a wonderful performance.
The stage at Etcetera Theatre is transformed into three different living rooms by moving around the chairs and changing the painting on the easel. Each of the paintings, as well as the prop drinks, display the different personalities and ways of life that each character represents quite efficiently. Similarly, while rather mundane in some ways, the way the three characters are dressed and styled emphasises further the disparity between the trio. These visual cues are very subtle, but they add wonderfully to the material.
Reza’s play is filled with the nuances and complexities of actual friendships. This production hits every bit of her script with precision and power, delivering a truly memorable performance.
Original text: Yasmina Reza
Dramaturg: Sam Smithson
Presented by Hatoda Productions
Art plays at The Etcetera Theatre until Saturday 14 March.
