ART is charming. Centred around long-time friends Yvan (Ronav Jain), Marcus (Rufus Shutter) and Serge (Jem Hunter), the play not only raises pertinent questions about modern art but tries to unravel what exactly makes people stay friends, even when they grow to have little in common. When Serge buys a white canvas for 200,000 francs, long-simmering tensions rise to the surface and threaten to destroy their friendship.
I think it is only appropriate to start by turning my attention to the designers behind ART who should be very proud of what they’ve achieved. Oli Spooner and Theo Joly, the play’s producers, directors and sound and costume designers – a truly impressive juggling of departments – clearly had a strong creative vision for the play.
The Burton Taylor Studio (BT) was almost unrecognisable. Using thrust seating, set designer Clara Sancha turned the space into a “deconstructed” – as Serge would say – living room. There was a simple wooden desk centre stage and everything around it was white, the walls of the BT being completely covered in white cloth. An easel, placed upstage, served as a clever way of indicating changes of place without the need for major set changes: when inside Serge’s home it held the white canvas, and when we were in Marcus’ apartment a more traditional view of Carcassonne replaced it.
The costume design was one of my favourite aspects of the play: it was simple yet intelligent. The three friends wore identical outfits, except for their t-shirts: white but each splashed with a different primary colour (red, blue and green), serving to highlight their fundamental differences in character and taste. The costume design was aligned with Felix Gibbons’ highly successful lighting design, which flashed red, blue, and green alternately.
In ART, there are moments when the characters step out of their conversations to confide in the audience. However, instead of trying to make such a contrived theatrical convention natural, the directors leaned into the artificiality of the asides completely. When characters interrupted their dialogue with each other we got a short burst of jazz and a flash of coloured light – disrupting the otherwise white lighting state – corresponding to the colour on the character’s costume. The result was surprisingly effective.
More than anything else, ART demands a strong cast of performers who can walk the line between comedy and drama. In this respect, the cast delivered. Although not all the dramatic beats landed entirely, this production of ART was undeniably successful at humour. With so many of the play’s laughs hinging on the wittiness of the dialogue, I was struck by how well the cast managed physical comedy. Jem Hunter was particularly successful at this, endowing his character with all sorts of affected mannerisms that the audience thoroughly enjoyed. As he stepped onto the stage, his dramatic flick of the white cloth which covered the BT’s walls immediately seemed to win everyone over.
Although both Jem Hunter and Ronav Jain gave great performances, Rufus Shutter’s Marc was the gravitational centre of the play. He brings an emotional depth to the character, an embittered self-absorption that intensifies all the play’s moments of tension. When Marc is forced to drop his sardonic facade, his emotional vulnerability is palpable and moving.
However, perhaps appropriately, the play’s piéce de resistance is a collaboration between all its creatives. As an argument between the three friends evolves into a physical fight, the jazz soundtrack becomes cacophonous as the lights flash violently. It is vibrant and chaotic. This is ART at its best.
Whether you’re a fan of contemporary art or not, this production is a guaranteed evening of fun, which may or may not make you rethink some of your friendships.
