The Old Vic's production of 'Art' came to the Wales Millennium Centre last night with a starry cast consisting of the one and only Nigel Havers, 'New Tricks' Denis Lawson and the marvellous Stephen Tompkinson. My previous encounters with Yasmina Reza's comedy masterpiece were limited to excerpts performed back in school and I am so glad I got to see it performed in full glory on the Donald Gordon stage.
'Art' is a fabulous play that has so much to it and provokes an awful lot of interesting thought - particularly about friendship. The audience spends 90 minutes watching the three actors engage in sometimes heated, mostly farcical debate. The main argument lies between Serge (Havers) and Marc (Lawson) after Serge purchases a lucrative piece of modern art - white lines on a white canvas. This play's excellence for me lies in the distinct characteristics of each of the three roles, which I think are all recognisable in everyday friendship groups. Not only do I recognise these attributes in those around me, but also myself and I believe that these three characters can be found in myself at any given time and it's fascinating to think about slotting myself in on that spectrum. Having that small of a cast is what is so clever about 'Art' and the fast paced change of which character you agree with in each different section of the play.
So what did I think of the acting? Well it was all rather good. Nigel Havers was as charming and charismatic as ever. To me, he felt like a natural Serge and he didn't seem out of place at all being the leader of the trio in many ways. Denis Lawson had a lovely rapport with his fellow actors and it's very clear that he is really enjoying playing the part. I was unsure about Stephen Tompkinson during the first quarter of the show, but the way he took on Yvan's monologue about the wedding invitations with such fine timing was show stopping. This was a really significant moment for proving to me that he really knew what he was doing with this part, and without a doubt gave the performance of the evening.
The lavish set was slick and certainly aided the context of the play. As I walked into the auditorium I felt concerned that, despite it being very tall, it would get lost in the mammoth space of the Donald Gordon, but by the end of the play, it had totally proved it's worth.
One of my favourite aspects of the play was absolutely the extremely intelligent lighting work. It was very subtle, such as the the blinds on the wall depicting the time of day. It was these little quirks in the lighting design that proved to me that an awful lot of thought went into the production. I was also very taken with the imagery at the end where the three actors give their final monologues, resort to their final positions and three bold coloured lights illuminate them, mirroring the promotional images. I really love those sort of twee additions to a production.
This play is epic. It's epic because of it's simplicity, and the many questions it poses and I certainly left with my mind whirring. It provoked questions about the content of the play, but also questions about everyday life and society. Why should we judge someone for their taste? This play is fantastic, and I would love to see it time and time again but with different interpretations of the play and explore the meaning behind it by using different actors and ideas.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Art concludes it's tour next week.
http://arttheplay.com
'Art' is a fabulous play that has so much to it and provokes an awful lot of interesting thought - particularly about friendship. The audience spends 90 minutes watching the three actors engage in sometimes heated, mostly farcical debate. The main argument lies between Serge (Havers) and Marc (Lawson) after Serge purchases a lucrative piece of modern art - white lines on a white canvas. This play's excellence for me lies in the distinct characteristics of each of the three roles, which I think are all recognisable in everyday friendship groups. Not only do I recognise these attributes in those around me, but also myself and I believe that these three characters can be found in myself at any given time and it's fascinating to think about slotting myself in on that spectrum. Having that small of a cast is what is so clever about 'Art' and the fast paced change of which character you agree with in each different section of the play.
So what did I think of the acting? Well it was all rather good. Nigel Havers was as charming and charismatic as ever. To me, he felt like a natural Serge and he didn't seem out of place at all being the leader of the trio in many ways. Denis Lawson had a lovely rapport with his fellow actors and it's very clear that he is really enjoying playing the part. I was unsure about Stephen Tompkinson during the first quarter of the show, but the way he took on Yvan's monologue about the wedding invitations with such fine timing was show stopping. This was a really significant moment for proving to me that he really knew what he was doing with this part, and without a doubt gave the performance of the evening.
The lavish set was slick and certainly aided the context of the play. As I walked into the auditorium I felt concerned that, despite it being very tall, it would get lost in the mammoth space of the Donald Gordon, but by the end of the play, it had totally proved it's worth.
One of my favourite aspects of the play was absolutely the extremely intelligent lighting work. It was very subtle, such as the the blinds on the wall depicting the time of day. It was these little quirks in the lighting design that proved to me that an awful lot of thought went into the production. I was also very taken with the imagery at the end where the three actors give their final monologues, resort to their final positions and three bold coloured lights illuminate them, mirroring the promotional images. I really love those sort of twee additions to a production.
This play is epic. It's epic because of it's simplicity, and the many questions it poses and I certainly left with my mind whirring. It provoked questions about the content of the play, but also questions about everyday life and society. Why should we judge someone for their taste? This play is fantastic, and I would love to see it time and time again but with different interpretations of the play and explore the meaning behind it by using different actors and ideas.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Art concludes it's tour next week.
http://arttheplay.com
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