Serge, Marc and Yvan are best friends, however a seemingly innocent piece of art has created fractures which turn into gulfs within their relationship. Is their friendship strong enough to survive?
Serge (Chris Harper), who thinks he is a collector, has splurged out £200k on a piece of artwork, which he loves. Marc, the logical one, is surprised when he sees it and thinks Serge is going mad spending so much money on a painting which shows white diagonal lines on a white background. Marc actually thinks it’s sh*t and tells Serge so. This upsets Serge.
Marc (Aden Gillett) chats with Yvan worried that Serge is having some mental episode. Yvan is the funny one, always trying to keep things light and non-confrontational. He’s also due to get married but the invitations are getting complicated.
Yvan (Seann Walsh) then has a chat with Serge to see if everything is okay and he sees the painting, Yvan goes along with Serge’s enthusiasm without being too committal to an opinion.
The three friends get together for a meal out and things get out of hand, tensions rise, tempers flare, tears are cried and relationships are almost severed. Serge invites Marc to draw on the painting, which he does after a slight hesitation. When things have calmed down and the painting cleaned of Marc’s drawing he finally sees its meaning.
The play, written 30 years ago by French playwright Yasmina Reza is a really interesting concept of using a ‘blank canvas’ to kick off deep and difficult conversations between friends and pushes the question of what bonds actually bring friends together, how they shape each other over time and is there a natural end to a friendship as they grow apart, and is it possible to rebuild?
It’s an interesting play with lots of comedy moments which not only keeps it relatable but also seems to cleverly keep these heavy deep discussions light-hearted. The artwork becomes the divisive force but is really posing the questions about modern art, values shared, or not shared, and raises the question whether you can still be friends if you do not share values.
The trio worked well together on stage and portrayed the friendship dynamics well. The simple stage format cleverly used movable parts for different rooms, and the breaking the fourth wall for the characters to voice their thoughts to the audience was a fun element.
My favourite quote from the play:
‘Friends need to be chaperoned or they will get away’
The burning question we should all think about:
‘Are you who you think you are, or are you who your friends think you are?’
Photo Credit: Geraint Lewis