Daily Times

Three young ladies transformed the French play Art into an emotionally swayed anecdote with their spontaneous and close to actual performance. Written by Yasmina Reza, the play premiered in Paris in 1994 and has been staged in many countries since with great fanfare. Originally by the script the three characters of friends are men, but the Lahore Amateur Theatre Zealots (LATZ) with the support of Alliance Francaise, sought special permission from the playwright to do it with three female characters. And the decision turned out to be great as Zainab Ahmed, Mariam Saleem Nawaz and Iman Shahid did utmost justice to their characters with the right amount of expressions, dialogue delivery and placing themselves well on the stage.

Produced by Huma Ijaz Zaman and directed by Tughral Turab Ali, the first performance of the play was at Karachi Alliance Francaise on February 10 and at Karachi Literary Festival on February 11 to a fully packed house. Its performance at Islamabad Club was on February 18 while the Lahore enjoyed the play at Alhamra on February 19-20.

The play was generously supported by the Alliance Francaise Lahore and French Embassy in a bid to promote genuine form of theatre in Pakistan. It is great pleasure to see some quality theatre productions coming up in the recent years in the main metropolitans at least. Ironically, no serious efforts were made over the past decades to revive the serious theatre. We hardly see one or two productions a year that could be termed as real theatrical essence. Art stands out among the similar kind of theatrical productions for sure because of its real-like performance, and the content. The play successfully pleads the case of the importance of friendship in life over the other attractions.

The play has received several awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy (Spring 1997), the Molière Award for Best Commercial Production (April 1995), the New York Drama Critics’ Circle — Best Play (May 1998), the Tony Award for Best Play (June 1998) and the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy (November 1998). It was also nominated for the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play

ART is a Tony Award-winning play that has been performed to critical acclaim in several countries and in several languages. Adapted in English with an all-female cast by the Lahore Amateur Theatre Zealots, Art brought to the stage a thought-provoking comedy about three friends, and one very ‘controversial’ piece of modern art.

Art is Latz fourth theatre production within a year with Huma Ijaz Zaman as producer of all the four plays. She says theatre is a full time passion and a source of creative expression. The Latz is committed to quality productions for those who seriously follow the traditional theatre values.

In this ground-breaking play, Reza raises important questions about art: Is aesthetics now inextricably confused with market value? When we read that a painting has been sold for countless millions in the auction room, do we somehow rate it more highly? Also, is it possible to enjoy a real relationship with someone whose views on art, books, or theatre, are radically different from our own? Is art the basis for friendship, or war?

Art is the crisp comedy in a theatrical masterpiece that questions human nature, the value of art, and the nature of our friendships. Premiered at Comédie des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the English-language adaptation, translated by Christopher Hampton, opened in London’s West-End on 15 October 1996, starring Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott, produced by David Pugh and Sean Connery, running for eight years.

‘Art’ played on Broadway in New York from February 12, 1998 to August 8, 1999, again produced by Pugh and Connery, plus Joan Cullman. The March 1, 1998 opening-night cast featured Alan Alda (Marc), Victor Garber (Serge), and Alfred Molina (Yvan), who was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. ‘Art’ won the Tony for Best Play and went on to a 600-performance run. Replacement actors included Judd Hirsch, Joe Morton, George Wendt, Buck Henry, George Segal, and Wayne Knight.

From December 2016 to February 2017 the play was revived at The Old Vic, London starring Rufus Sewell, Tim Key and Paul Ritter and will embark a UK tour from February 2018.

The comedy, which raises questions about art and friendship, concerns three long-time friends, Serge, Marc, and Yvan. Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as a result of their differing opinions about what constitutes ‘art’. Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to please and mollify both of them.

The play is not divided into acts and scenes in the traditional manner, but it does nevertheless fall into sections. Some of these are dialogues between two characters, several are monologues where one of the characters addresses the audience directly, and one is a conversation among all three. At the beginning and end of the play, and for most of the scenes set in Serge’s flat, the large white painting is on prominent display.

Serge and Marc inspect the white painting in a 2011 production by OVO theatre company, St Albans, UK. Set in Paris, the story revolves around three friends — Serge, Marc and Yvan — who find their previously solid 15-year friendship on shaky ground when Serge buys an expensive painting. The canvas is white, with a few white lines. Serge is proud of his 200,000 franc acquisition, fully expecting the approval of his friends.

Marc scornfully describes it as ‘a piece of white shit’, but is it the painting that offends him, or the uncharacteristic independence of thought that the purchase reveals in Serge?

For the insecure Yvan, burdened by the problems of his impending doom (wedding) where he is stuck in an insoluble problem and his dissatisfaction at his job as a stationery salesman, their friendship is his sanctuary, but his attempts at peace-making backfire. Eager to please he laughs about the painting with Marc but tells Serge he likes it. Pulled into the disagreement, his vacillations fuel the blazing row.

Lines are drawn and they square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendship.

The play has received several awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy (Spring 1997), the Molière Award for Best Commercial Production (April 1995), the New York Drama Critics’ Circle – Best Play (May 1998), the Tony Award for Best Play (June 1998) and the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy (November 1998). It was also nominated for the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play.

The writer is an Islamabad-based art and culture, policy advocacy, strategic communication and outreach expert. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com. He tweets @EmmayeSyed

Published in Daily Times, February 23^rd 2018.