‘Art’

Marc’s friend Serge has just bought a painting, an Antrios. It’s a canvas about five foot by four: white. The background is white and if you screw up your eyes, you can make out some fine white diagonal lines.

Serge is one of Marc’s oldest friends. He’s done very well for himself, he’s a dermatologist and he’s keen on art. Marc’s an aeronautical engineer who seems to take some sort on incomprehensible pride in running modernism (and Serge) down. And Yvan’s… getting married?? there?? playing go-between?? in love with both of them? 

Marc hates the painting. Serge hates that Marc is taking it so personally. Yvan doesn’t understand what’s the big issue and tries to get in the middle to calm the other two down, which only makes everything worse. In the repartee, the recriminations and accusations, the discoveries and truths finally told that follow the play investigates what happens when the unspoken agreements and assumptions we make about our relationships with the people closest to us turn out to be false and if in the end we can prove to each other that we care.

Note: this play includes brief allusions to hypothetical violence and a short scene of mild staged combat.