3 – 7 September
Having toured the country and indeed the world after its premier in Paris, picking up a fistful of awards on the way, Art is making a return to Bath in a new production, directed by Iqbal Khan, which we await with benign anticipation. It was said of Peter Shaffer’s Equus that part of its success was down to the fact that it flattered audiences: whilst being about psychiatry and therefore, high falutin’, it was nevertheless both accessible and entertaining. Audiences got it and could pat themselves on the back for doing so. In similar vein the world of art can sometimes seem esoteric, baffling and often silly. Poking the art world in the ribs and having a laugh whilst doing so is therefore a good recipe for success, and if we come away from the experience a little wiser we have every reason to think the price of our ticket money well spent.
Yasmina Reza’s comedy (translated from the French by Christopher Hampton) has us laughing at the outset at what seems to be a classic example of the emperor’s new clothes. Surely the artist (and gallery) is taking the proverbial by asking 200K for a painting of white lines on a white background? The scene seems to be set for some knockabout stuff about the self-congratulatory navel gazing of modern art and all things urinal. However, when Marc (Aden Gillett) scoffs at his friend Serge’s purchase the play becomes more interested in the foundations of friendship. If Serge (Chris Harper) cannot see the absurdity of the whole thing, Marc begins to wonder how such a mismatch between fundamental beliefs about art and by extension other areas of thought, can ever be the basis of friendship. In short, the ground he stands on is shaken by an unfathomable ‘like’.
And then there is the knotty problem of truth telling. Their mutual friend, Yvan (Seann Walsh) a procrastinator, dodges the question of taking sides, being more concerned, not unreasonably, with the family politics of his forthcoming marriage. Why, the play posits, do relationships need to be so complicated? ‘Nothing useful is born of rational argument.’ Put another way; is there, ‘a truth of the matter’ that could decide between the conflicting views or do questions about the values that underlie contemporary art lie elsewhere? Again, more prosaically, should you always tell your chums the truth?
The acting is exemplary, the two opposing, urbane characters are well drawn and Mr Khan allows both the space to breathe and develop. The audience is drawn into the arguments and if not quite enlightened are at least given some signposts. The journey is leavened by some fine comic acting from Seann Walsh who plays the classroom joker with precise timing. In all the production manages to tickle the funny-bone whilst engaging us intellectually, which is as much as any audience has the right to expect.
★★★★☆ Graham Wyles, 4 September 2024
Photography credit: Geraint Lewis
