Work of Acting Art
by Ron Foley MacDonald
The Sunday Daily News January 28, 2001
Text copyright 2000 The Daily News. Used with permission.
Nova Scotia actors Carr and Gammie shine in Neptune production of Art.
Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christoper Hampton.
Directed by Ron Ulrich at Neptune's Fountain Hall.Yasmina Reza's international hit tragicomedy Art is a delightfully skewed tale of three friends who fall out over the purchase of a very expensive piece of minimalist art. The Neptune production, straightforward and direct, is both funny and pointedly provocative. At its centre are three tremendous performances by Bill carr, Gordon Gammie and Nigel Bennett.
Reza's play zeroes in on the way that men talk to each other. Using the premise of a piece of art coming between two friends, Reza echoes two of the great absurdist playwrights, Beckett and Ionesco, in her examination of how language can actually obscure communication.
As the play races to a warm and satisfying conclusion, the episode reveals itself to be a more profound examination of power relations and influence, spiced with enough comic pomposity to give Art's gentle satire a bittersweet sting.
Art provides an opportunity for three male actors to engage in the kind of genteel verbal sparring rarely seen on the contemporary stage. They are intelligent, cultured and articulate, each with enough quirky traits to fuel rich characterization without resorting to cliche.
Serge is neatly portrayed by Nigel Bennett as the kind of man who doesn't quite understand the implications of his actions.
The real revelations, however, come froma surprisingly restrained Bill Carr as the opinionated Marc and from Gordon Gammie's frantic Yvan, who tries to patch up the rift between his two friends. While Carr's performance is precise, pointed and powerfully downplayed, Gammie gets to deliver a couple of tour-de-force sequences that earned sustained rounds of applause. His comedic talents have thrust him to the front ranks of the East Coast actors.
Director Ron Ulrich occassionally lets the action drag, straining the comedy with too many pregnant pauses. Except for one delightfully choreographed but very brief three-way wretsling match, most of the action consists of the men simply talking to each other. It's a stiff approach that works against the inherent humour of Reza's premise. The strength of the play, however, and the overall quality of the acting manage to outshine these minor staging problems.
Behind Art's slight facade of an argument between firends is a much deeper exmaination of language and the value of companionship. Neptune's production catches this idea nicely without pushing the play into the realms of melodrama or burlesque.
This page last updated April 4, 2001
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