Taken at face value, it’s hard to imagine that a play about three middle-aged men arguing over a very expensive painting could have universal appeal. However ART manages to take what sounds like an elitist premise, and turn it into a warm and funny piece of theatre which looks at the nature and power dynamics of male friendship.

Serge (played by Nigel Havers) invites his friend Marc (Denis Lawson) over to see a new painting he’s just bought for £200,000. Marc scoffs at the painting, which appears to be a white canvas, with white stripes, and later, in conversation with a third friend, Yvan (Stephen Tomkinson), he suggests that Yvan go to see it for himself. Yvan visits, prepared to join in the mockery, but finds himself moved by the painting, and understanding Serge’s need to purchase the artwork.

The rest of the narrative plays out as the men speak (and later argue) about art and their relationships. The writer, Yasmina Reza, has an astute understanding of what is said and unsaid in a friendship, and the characters are full – well-drawn and relatable in their anxieties, insecurities, and braggadocio. The production plays with the use of light and dark to allow the characters to speak their thoughts to the audience away from their friends, although as the play proceeds, the characters begin more and more to speak their minds, and to tell their friends the truth, however hurtful.

The play takes place within a limited set – a plain, modern living room, with one revolving wall, on which a different painting appears depending on whose house we are meant to be in. It’s a simple set, almost museum-like, allowing the art, in this case the sharp dialogue and clever social interplay, to shine. It’s short, with no interval, but leaves the audience with plenty to think about afterwards.   ★★★★☆    @BookingAround  at Oxford Playhouse on  6^th February 2019