Produced by Lihan Mendis and lighting design by Ryan Holsinger, the Broken Leg Theatre Company’s tenth anniversary production, ‘Art’ by Yasmina Reza will be staged on March 25, 26 and 27 at 8pm at the Lionel Wendt Theatre with two matinees at 5pm on Friday and Saturday.
Yasmina Reza’s ‘Art’ is a Tony and Olivier award winning play for which she won high praise when it debuted in her native Paris. Following the success of the play, it has since been translated into 30 languages with Christopher Hampton taking credit for the English version.
Reza is rumoured to have been slightly troubled by the ease with which the play was slotted into the comedy genre, given the eventually fraught relationships of the play’s protagonists. However, the travails of the three friends are described in Reza’s characteristic wit and incisiveness resulting in a hilarious unravelling and potential rekindling of friendships.
The play revolves around three male friends, Marc, Ian and Shehan (the play has been slightly altered to suit local audiences). Shehan buys a ‘white’ painting. Marc hates it. Ian isn’t sure. The polarisation that ensues is an excellent introspection into the ‘with us or against us’ attitude that exists in many of today’s disagreements.
The conversation which begins in a critique of the painting expands into witty repartee that establishes the insecurities and foibles of the characters, of themselves and also in their interactions with each other.
Steve De La Zilwa’s visual brilliance as director and interpretation coupled with Reza’s script in the hands of thespians ShanakaAmarasinghe, ChamatArambewela and LihanMendis will add lustre as ‘Art’ goes on the boards at the Wendt.