The Broken Leg Theatre Co.’s 10th anniversary production, “Art” by Yasmina Reza, will be held at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on 25, 26, and 27 March.
Directed by Steve de la Zilwa and featuring Shanaka Amarasinghe, Chamat Arambewela, and Lihan Mendis, “Art” will be the first English language theatrical production to be staged at the Lionel Wendt since the height of the pandemic.
Originally a French-language play by Reza, “Art” premiered in 1994 at Comédie des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It was subsequently translated and had its run in London in 1996 and on Broadway in 1998, where it enjoyed a 600-performance run, winning the Tony Award for the Best Play.
The comedy comes with a simple-enough premise, with a minimal cast of three protagonists – longtime friends Serge, Marc, and Yvan. The plot gets going when the trio’s more cultured member Serge, indulging in his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. Marc, who is absolutely horrified by this purchase, opposes this acquisition, struggling to understand his longtime friend’s perspective, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as a result of their differing opinions about what constitutes “art”. The third friend, Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to settle and mediate the situation.
The cast and director of the upcoming Lankan production shared that the retelling of Reza’s comedy has been attempted twice before, once by an all-female cast and then in 2011 by The Broken Leg Theatre Co. themselves, but featuring a different cast.
Taking the time to chat with Brunch during their rehearsals at their director’s cashew estate in Puttalam, surrounded by his 13 dogs (a number that is somewhat in dispute), Shanaka, Chamat and Lihan stated that they pretty much had to “drag, cajole, and threaten” Steve de la Zilwa out of retirement to take on the direction of their play. Feeling that Steve is the perfect person to take on the role, they’ve since been rehearsing four days a week travelling to Steve’s estate, which according to them has been an interesting experience.
Shanaka, who had previously worked with Steve on “Equus”, shared that with his rich body of work, they felt they absolutely must get Steve on board, adding that he was a performer before the times of social media and is able to take things back to the fundamentals. Shanaka said that these rehearsal experiences were new to them, also sharing that as they rehearsed at Steve’s estate, they were fed incessantly, which has resulted in them probably needing a redo of the measurements for their costumes.
The trio shared that the play with its limited cast has proved to be the ideal production, as they’ve chosen to rehearse in their residential setting and have been able to limit exposure and contact during these pandemic times, as both Shanaka and Chamat live alone and Lihan lives with a relatively young family.
Of course, putting on a show at the Lionel Wendt amidst the pandemic has proven to be challenging, with the play needing to be conducted in accordance with the recommended Covid-19 protocols and, of course, a reduced seat capacity of around 25% of the total seating capacity. Limiting risk at all ends, ticket sales will be conducted online, taking all efforts to limit physical contact and remain within a small bubble as much as possible. A far cry from how usually putting on a play is often a family affair. They shared that despite the restrictions and limitations, the audience’s response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many impatiently awaiting the opportunity to finally witness some live theater.
About the play
“Art” is a play that is often regarded as an actor's dream, a non-stop cross-fire of crackling language, serious issues of life, and art expressed in outbursts; it is a character study entirely driven by the performances of the three male protagonists.
As much as the play is about art, it is equally, if not more, about male friendships, the nuances of longtime relationships, and the importance of preserving relationships despite differing opinions and disagreements.
Taking us through each of their characters and their approach to preparing for their individual roles, Shanaka, Chamat, and Lihan shared with us a deep dive into the minds of the Lankan equivalents of Serge, Marc, and Yvan as they would portray them.
Marc played by Chamat
Chamat, who will be playing the role of Marc, an aeronautical engineer with a black and white opinion, describes his character stating that “he is a fan of the classics, an enemy of modernism, and a nostalgia merchant”. Being a fairly stoic, self-absorbed character, Marc refuses to appreciate what his friend has done.
He shared that there is this observation of the brittleness of particular male relationships: We often have schoolmates whom we were friends with for 15 years and one day you realise that you have absolutely nothing in common with them. The crossroads of realising this and deciding to choose to work on these relationships, or maintain a superficial companionship of simply having known each other for so long. There is a look at the co-dependency of certain relationships, depending on your friends for validation and to define who you are.
Ivan played by Lihan
In stark contrast to the two friends, describing himself as a professional failure, Lihan shared that Ivan is at times a victim and there are aspects of his life coming apart. However, he is the comic relief of the play. Spewing absurdities, he shared that in spite of this, Ivan makes sense in this trinity of friends, and as the layers are pulled back, he comments that he has proven to be an interesting character to play, adding that he is indeed a “lovable failure”.
Yvan’s role, being the third, is to play peacemaker, which then results in him being derided by the others as he attempts to restore the cordial equilibrium between this long-standing three-way bromance.
Serge played by Shanaka
Serge starts it all as he purchases the all-white painting which, according to Shanaka, he absolutely loves. He genuinely does love his purchase, said Shanaka, adding that he struggles to imagine why he is not applauded for it is appalling that there is opposition.
He described Marc as a “professional wanker”, but as most such character types do, there is a bit of sincerity to him as well. He shared that it is a difficult line to walk and therefore playing Marc has proven to be a tough take on for him.
He shared that it was certainly a challenge, and slightly different to the roles he would otherwise identify with, adding that Steve pushed them all to recognise and find emotions that may not have been put into these characters up until now.
Shanaka shared that without taking too much away from the plot, he can say that the catharsis to the all three characters is satisfying and his character is central to the continuance of the trio’s friendship.
The painting
There has been quite a bit of debate about the play being about the appreciation of art giving way to a discussion of “what is art”. However, it is evident that even though it makes several appearances during the play, the painting itself soon becomes a MacGuffin – a catalyst for amplifying hidden tensions within the group.
With the upcoming production, what we grasped from the cast is that there would be a concentrated focus on what made the play the success that it is – the rising tensions between three longtime friends and the latent fall out or settlement of their dispute, and potentially avoid the wider received criticisms of the play being about three moneyed white European males bickering over an expensive painting which is pretty much the dictionary definition of First World Problems.
For the audience, “Art”, a story about art and friendship, is marvellously simple and as the first play going on the board at the Wendt since February last year, it is certainly ideal. Having spoken to the cast, it is clear to us that they are taking all efforts to put on a great show, and we ourselves are pretty much frothing at the mouth to be able to witness some live theatre after having been starved for over a year. It is our hope that “Art” by The Broken Leg Theatre Co. is an unmitigated success and invite you all to step into the Wendt and experience it with us.
Dates and times 25 March: 8 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. 26 March: 5 p.m. to 6.15 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. 27 March: 5 p.m. to 6.15 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. Tickets available from 10 March. Email brokenleg.lk@gmail.com or call/message +94 77 868 7281. This production of “Art” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. (www.concordtheatricals.co.uk).
Dates and times 25 March: 8 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. 26 March: 5 p.m. to 6.15 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. 27 March: 5 p.m. to 6.15 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. Tickets available from 10 March. Email brokenleg.lk@gmail.com or call/message +94 77 868 7281. This production of “Art” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. (www.concordtheatricals.co.uk).