Art

'Art' is a profound and hilarious comedy about the value of truth and friendship. My friend Serge has bought a painting. It's a canvas about five foot by four: white. The background is white and, if you screw up your eyes, you can make out some fine white diagonal lines. Serge is one of my oldest friends. Serge has bought a modern work of art for a large sum of money. Marc hates the painting and cannot believe that a friend of his could feel differently. Yvan attempts to placate both sides, with hilarious consequences. The question is: Are you who you think you are, or are you who your friends think you are? 'Art' premiered in this translation at Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1996. It won Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Comedy, and New York Drama Critics' Circle and Tony Awards for Best Play. 'A remarkably wise, witty and intelligent comedy. "Art" has touched a universal nerve.' The Times '"Art" not only brings to the stage a topical debate, it makes it invigorating, touching and finally disturbing. This dark comedy, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton in sparkling form, explores its themes through a rift between friends.' Financial Times

About the Author :
Yasmina Reza is a French playwright and novelist, based in Paris, whose works have all been multi-award-winning, critical and popular successes. Her plays, including God of Carnage, have been produced worldwide and translated into thirty-five languages. Christopher Hampton wrote his first play, When Did You Last See My Mother?, at the age of eighteen. Since then, his plays have included Tales from Hollywood, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Appomattox (which was turned into an opera by Philip Glass), and A German Life. He is celebrated for his translations of Yasmina Reza and Florian Zeller (including The Father and The Son). His screenplays include Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement and Carrington.

Review :
"This is not some irrelevant fringe production; it is a major intervention in the cultural debate of the country by people who are keen to keep the reactionary tides running. It is probably the most sustained attack on modernism yet seen on the British stage, and it represents a stern challenge to the brilliant success story of British contemporary art." --The Guardian "Not only brings to the stage a topical debate, it makes it invigorating, touching and finally disturbing. This dark comedy, translated from the French, in sparkling form, explores its themes through a rift between friends." --Financial Times "A remarkably wise, witty and intelligent comedy . . . has touched a universal nerve." --The Times "Chic, short, and wickedly, perceptively funny, it's the perfect West End play." --Nick Curtis, Evening Standard "Art, which has been translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, is filled from first curtain to ending with a dazzling array of language." --Iris Fanger, Christian Science Monitor "It's an actor's dream, a nonstop cross-fire of crackling language, serious issues of life and art expressed in outbursts that sound like Don Rickles with a degree from the Sorbonne. Brilliantly translated by Christopher Hampton, . . . Art takes that yawny old bore, the play of ideas, and jolts it to life." --Jack Kroll, Newsweek