A time for Art
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The trio - Lihan, Shanaka and Chamath. Pix courtesy Ruvin de Silva
The local production of Yasmina Reza’s play, ART,puts friendship and art, and all the accompanying trappings of pretense and tolerance under the microscope…
Colombo’s entertainment scene has been a haunted space for nearly a year now, with no onstage drama activity(although there’s been plenty off-stage). But with the Lionel Wendt announcing its re-opening, thespians are set to tread the boards once again. “The stage has been vacant for so long, but we are making strides to occupy the empty space a year later with our theatre effort,” says Lihan Mendis, Producer of Yasmina Reza’s ART for the Broken Leg Theatre Company’s 10-year anniversary.
“It’s a lovely play on friendship, and it focuses on both the visible and invisible strife between friends,” explains Lihan.This award-winning comedy focuses on three friends – Serge, Marc and Yvan– and how their friendship is impacted by a painting, or more specifically, their views of what constitutes art.
Directed by Steve De La Zilwa, who is coming out of retirement (it’s been 14 years since he last directed),the cast comprises of Lihan (as Yvan), Shanaka Amarasinghe(as Serge) and Chamath Arambewela (as Marc). Incidentally, Art was Shanaka’s Broken Leg Theatre Company’s first play, and he is an original cast member; but this time around there’s a change of director and the rest of the cast.
A French-language play which was set and debuted in Paris, Art was translated to English by Christopher Hampton and ran in London’s West End and on New York’s Broadway. It won Yasmina Reza many awards, including a Laurence Olivier award in 1998.The prize was for comedy, surprising Reza, who said: “I thought I had written a tragedy.”
Indeed it walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy as the three longstanding friends nearly fall out over, initially, their perceptions of art, and then, over their perceptions of each other in an escalation of conflict. What starts out as a mere purchase of a painting, leads to friends bickering,things getting personal, and almost wrecking several relationships.
“All of this is brought out beautifully through somesoliloquies and monologues,” says Lihan who portrays Yvan, the friend caught between two warring friends. His attempts at striking a conciliatory stancewith both has his friends levelling various accusations at him.
Lihan admits that rehearsals amidst a constantly-evolving pandemic was not easy.It’s a cliché, but, the show must go on.
“This is why we are having a very limited run. We are being compliant with all the health guidelines, so there will be limited seating – about 30 percent seating, actually,” says Lihan, adding there will be just five shows.
Scenes from the play. Pix courtesy Sabina Omar
For those starved of the arts and drama, this might seem too little; it is the first play since the pandemic was declared. But it might be appropriate in this strange era, when our relationships with each other have had to adjust, and we have to (re)learn to be considerate of others’ viewpoints.
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Produced by Lihan Mendis and lighting design by Ryan Holsinger, the Broken Leg Theatre Company’s tenth anniversary production, ‘Art’ by Yasmina Reza will be staged
from March 25 – 27, 2021 at 8pm at the Lionel Wendt Theatre with two matinees at 5pm on Friday and Saturday.
For tickets, please email brokenleg.lk@gmail.com or call/message 0778687281