Art – Sheffield Lyceum

Yasmina Reza’s comedy Art is a renown work and this production shows than signs of downing tools and allowing its acidic wit to pale.

Three friends Serge, Marc and Yvan deconstruct their own friendship whilst attempting to assimilate an objective verdict on Serge’s new £200,000 baby – a ‘blank’ white canvas. Or as Serge puts it, a canvas with shades of grey, thin lines and spots of red. This red is certainly not to be seen, nor is the profoundness of the work as Marc sardonically blasts the piece and Serge’s heinous modernist taste. This ignited the fuse between the two, catching the somewhat neglected Yvan in the process, who certainly tries his best to mediate.

Seann Walsh, Chris Harper and Aden Gillett play masterfully across a majestical yet understated set design. While Walsh struggles to find his feet in Yvan when comfortable, he excellently portrays a man under duress with great comedic sensibilities, and his performances grows stronger as a result. Gillett is a great antagonistic force and Harper has a truly refined presence and offers an excellent anchoring performance to the work. The direction and technical proficiency is strong, and Art is often at its best by not getting in the way of itself and letting Reza’s razor-sharp script and our cast of men-children of culture do their thing.

Art is running at the Sheffield Lyceum until 26th October 2024.

Reviewer: Louis Thompson

Reviewed: 22nd October 2024

North West End UK Rating: