Can a 15-year-old friendship jeopardise over a 5 X 4 painting? Can the egos of three friends play its villainous part in separating them in one single evening? Even with all such philosophies playing onstage, is it possible that comedy is created and people watching the scene laugh their hearts out?
The three friends argue over a painting. Pic Courtesy: Evam
Evam’s production "Art" exactly did all that in a 1 hour 30 mins performance. And they did that brilliantly. The play was staged at Rangashankara on 5th, 6th and 7th April. ‘Art ‘ is a play originally written in French by Yasmina Reza, designed and directed by Evam.
The plot concerns Serge, Marc and Yvan, three very close friends who share a 15-year-old friendship. Serge has just indulged in his penchant for modern art by buying a large, expensive and almost blank white painting. Marc is horrified and describes the painting as "shit." Yvan is caught in the middle, trying to please and mollify each of them in turn as all hell breaks loose!
The play goes through a roller-coaster ride with friends waging a war of words on each other. Here all three wants to prove they are right and the other two are wrong.
Ego parties hard onstage when the scene becomes more and more intense. The comedy remains, though, it turns very dark.
It was interesting to see the stage design and colors used onstage. Marc and everything representing him was black maybe to give the authoritative air. And everything including the painting of Serge was white possibly showing that he wanted to get out of the influence of his friend and find his own taste. A confused, comical Yvan was represented by Grey colour.
Evam promised entertainment and they delivered exactly that. The timing of actors was impeccable and acting very professional. But when it comes to theatre, Evam defies some basic nuances, the narration part is a bit long when compared to actors acting out the scene. It is as if the first two lines are narrated and the next two enacted from a four-line paragraph. It would have been one shade better if the narration was integrated with the scene itself. Also the ending could’ve been more polished, it looked a bit abrupt.
A scene from ‘Art.’ Pic courtesy: Evam
"Art" was a perfect play for any office going person to come back from work, forget all the worries of the day, sit, relax, enjoy and have a hearty laugh. It was a play with which I am sure everyone can relate to in one way or the other.
About Evam
Evam is an award-winning theatre entrepreneurship in the business of live entertainment shows, workshops and cultural festivals. Evam has performed over 25 plays and 400 shows in the last seven years.
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