Theatre Review: Art

The Play: Art by Yasmina Reza

The Theatre: The Comedy Theatre

Until 17 May in Melbourne - at Her Majesty's Theatre Adelaide 20-24 May

Stars: 4

Cheap tickets make me happy, especially when you can secure yourself a good seat in the front row of the Dress Circle for half the full ticket price. Seeing they were trying to fill the theatre for Art's last few days (especially as I looked at the ticket prices, then thought the better of it) I was glad to be able to go along at a more reasonable price.

I remember seeing Art in London in the 90s. Yasmina Reza, a French playwright, was all the rage at the time and it had a long run at the Wyndham Theatre. I'm pretty sure I saw it with Robert Bathurst as Serge, Nigel Havers as Marc and Roger Allam as Yvan. I do remember the premise of the play. I remember enjoying it. I could tell you it was a three hander about three blokes who react to one of them playing an exorbitant amount for what's basically a white canvas. And all hell prevails. 

Nearly 30 years on, this revival is sound - but has it aged well?  Part of me thinks not. 

Art is a very funny place on the surface. Three men who have been friends for years. A doctor, and engineer and the one who's still finding themselves, drifting from career to career. As much as they like each other, they also get up eachother's noses. Marc (Richard Roxburgh) can be an egotistical wanker who's sarcasm gets the better of him. Serge (Damon Herriman), the doctor who bought the painting, wanting to show his cultural chops. Then there's Yvan (Toby Schmitz) the boy-man who's about to get married and has been drifting for years. 

The play is still funny. It's witty and cutting and laugh out loud hilarious in places. 

However, I felt some of the scenes were a bit overacted - especially by Roxburgh and Schmitz - the physical aspects of their performance weren't needed. 

The other thing that had me questioning the play was looking at male friendships. Maybe we're hearing about the male loneliness epidemic too much, but do men still have these almost co-dependent relationships with each other? Can men really be this vapid? Or and U just reacting to the acting. 

In all, this was a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but I do have some questions about the play and how it's being performed in the 2020s. What would this look like if the characters were Marg, Sergia and Ivana? How would it play out differently?

Art has another week to play in Adelaide. I don't begrudge getting the ticket for a cheaper price. I'm not sure how I'd feel if I paid full whack for it. Regardless, it was a good use of 90 minutes, even if it raised more questions than answers. 

Today's song: 

Sunday Stealing Makes You Choose

 Okay. it's Saturday and I have a lot to do. I'm off to a play in a bit, there's a book to complete for book group on Tuesday (Charlotte Conaghy's Wild Dark Shore - it's very good.)

I'll get the questions out of the way. Questions, have been supplied, as always, but Sunday Stealing. 

Which one?

1. Pepsi or Coke?

Oh, definitely Coke. If you want me to be really specific, Coke Zero (or Sugar Free Coke) and not Diet Coke. Even better, if you can find it, Caffeine-Free Coke Zero - but it's hard to find. 

Pepsi tastes like lolly water, but it's there for when you really, really, really need a pickup and there's nothing else about. It still puzzles me that some places only sell Pepsi.

2. Cappuccino or coffee?

You don't ask Australians this question as we have a thriving and most excellent coffee culture here which is nuanced, bordering on obsessive and most excellent. Cappucino? Phah - Italians drink that for breakfast. Coffee in the American sense is just another reason not to go to America - and a big part of why Starbucks is universally ignored by the Australian coffee drinking masses - there are so many other places with far superior coffee

Please give me a flat white, if there is no decaf or milk alternative. My normal coffee order is an Almond Decaf Latte (also known as a Melbourne Wanker)

I loved this clip from Anyone But You - where the Glen Powell character was just given a shot of our finest - made from the machine in the kitchen, like most Australians do in the morning. Yes, most of us have our own coffee makers at home. I have one and an Italian stove top pot. We really do take our coffee seriously. 

3. Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla. Always vanilla. Vanilla over everything. White chocolate can sort of be classed as vanilla - there's normally a hint of it in there anyway. 

4. Hot tea or iced tea?

I'm very partial to a cup of tea (Australians just call it tea - mention tea, you know it comes in a mug, with water boiled from a kettle, and either a teabag or a leaves in a pot making a brew.) 

Iced tea is about, but not as prevalent over here. 

5. Dinner for two or a party?

Depends on the company. Dinner for two is lovely, but if you have an interesting crowd a dinner party can be good too. 

Today's song: 

V for Vendetta

Twenty-one years on, this film feels even more relevant. The dystopia is becoming real, more recognisable, more relatable. V for Vendetta has aged very, very well. 

Have you not seen it? With a fantastic cast. Hugo Weaving behind a mask of V, his voice doing all the work. Natalie Portman as Evie, who shaved her head for the role. I loved watching some of my favourite actors in their youth. Eddie Marsan, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea. Seeing Stephen Fry once again in his youth was lovely. 

Based on the graphic novel by Allan Moore, this film is timeless. The Wachowski's did a brilliant job with the script - and yes, it does have a bit of a Matrix feel about it. Of course it does. Dystopia with a sense of action and thriller. It's what the Wachowskis do best. 

For me, on this rewatch, what got me most was the oppression of the public - how the government tries to dampen down dissent - not that we're as bad as many other places - but our rights to protest are being ebbed away. This feels all too familiar. 

And the line of the movie? " People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

How very true. 

This film continues to stand up as one of the greats. So glad I have got reacquainted with it. 

V for Vendetta is streaming on ABC iView. Catch it before the government twigs. 

Today's Song: 

What to write about?

There are many things I could write about, but I'm not having any luck putting more than a few lines together on any of these topics. So, I'm going to give you a brain dump of these ideas, just to show you what an ADHD brain can do for you. 

1) Why do I have My Lovely Horse running through my brain?

I always loved Father Ted. (Ah, goowaaaaannn...) but that stupid fever dream song that Father Dougal was supposed to do for the Eurovision song contents. Really, this is the worst of bad earworms. Have a look. It's bad. 

2) Tia Maria

I wrote about dogs last night so I can't write about Tia Maria. I went to the gym last night. Outside, sat Tia Maria, with her Aunt Sally. I met Tia a few months ago when she was little, little. She's a Border Collie. Now, she's six months old. A too-smart ball of energy. I walked up. She greeted me like a long-lost lover, promptly gave my face a lick and sat on my feet. Aunt Sally said that I was in. Of course I'm in. It's a dog. Dogs love me. 

Enough about dogs. 

3) Yesteryear

I finished the most extraordinary book today. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is brilliant. Messed up, bonkers, furious, scathing, this book tells of Natalie, a Trad wife influencer who managers her social media account that she runs from her perfect farm, with her perfect husband and kids, spouting Christian fundamentalist claptrap and living the life of a hypocrite. Then things change. 

A five-star read, I'll review it later, but I loved every minute of it. It won't be for everybody, but what the author has done here is INCREDIBLE. 

4) I need to get the book group book read by Tuesday

It will happen. I started Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy this morning. I'm already 100 pages in. It will get read. 

5) I want a boyfriend

Don't say this very often, but I would like somebody to cook for and somebody to occasionally watch telly with. Is that too much to ask. 

6) And I've just realised

I have a touch of the black dog. Two good things - it's just the stirrings of a touch of depression - nothing major. And catching it quickly means it will be over soon. Lots of clean food, exercise and being good to myself. Admitting it is half the battle. 

That feels a little better already. It also makes sense as to why I don't want to write. 

Today's song:

The Best Part of my Day

I'm heading off to work, the best part of my day normally occurs when I cross the road. 

Opposite to where I live is a building site. The works have been going on for months now, but there has been a constant. Among the slab and the bricks and the plumbing, the second story and the security fencing there is often found the bit that makes any day better. 

At the site, most mornings, is this grey, hefty land seal arrangement - also known as a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Her name is Zoe. 

An AI rendering of Zoe

Zoe is lovely. She's very friendly. She's a bit old.  When I first met her, walking to the tram, we looked at each other. I think asked her Dad if it would be okay if she said hello. Of course it was. 

Ever since, if Zoe's come to work with her Dad, Zoe comes and says hello. 

She also has a friend who comes with her. A Border Collie named Lola. She's a bit more standoffish, but she also comes for a pat. 

This morning, her Dad saw me crossing the road. 

"Zoe, your mate's here, " he calls out to her. She comes trotting out, wagging, then comes and sits on my feet for a pat. 

Today, she was wearing a parka - a good thing for keeping short-haired dogs warm. So cute. 

Lola stood by, tail wagging, watching in the distance. 

It seems Zoe has a fan club. I've noticed other neighbours passing by in the hope for a tail wag and a pat. She is a sweetie and will be very missed when the building work is done. 

After this, I made my way to the tram stop. 

While waiting for the tram to arrive, a man was walking his dogs. One, a Pugalier, rather fat, rather old, but loving the walk. The dog stopped in front of me. 

Her dad looked at me and smiled. 

"I think she wants to say hello," he said. 

"Of course she does."

I bent down, let her smell my hand. She gave it a sniff and a lick, wagged her tail, then went on her way. 

"Thanks for that," I said to her dad. "Have a lovely day."

"You too," he called over his shoulder. 

And that is the best part of my day. When the local dogs come and say hi. 

Today's song: 

Projects Finished

 My shrink will be very proud of me. 

The inherited jumper - finished. 

My Doctor Who cable knit scarf - done. 

And the beanie for one of a friend I went to France with. Complete.

Three projects - all finished. I still have to work out how to get the jumper to it's owner. I love the scarf, but it needs to be cold enough to wear. And the beanie will be put in the mail in the next couple of days. 

But now what? 

Leave the handicraft for a while? 

Start Blarney's blanket? Probably.

Television is not the same if I don't have a project - or two on the boil. 

Onwards I say. 

Today's song: 

Inspiration Sessions

 Most years I try to get to a couple of sessions of the Melbourne Writer's Festival. It's a good thing to do. I've been attending Writer's Festival events for 25 years. In the early days I'd volunteer at the festival, often driving the writer's from their hotel to the venue, which was then, at the Malthouse. I got to meet some great people. I got breathalysed with David Malouf sitting next to me (May his name be a blessing - lovely man.) I got to meet some Australian luminaries. I remember telling Graeme Blundell that my dad would be stoked that I was meeting Alvin Purple. It was a cool gig, done for credit for my Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing. 

Since then, the festival changed hands. It became more central - larger auditoriums, a different vibe. But I still went to see favourite authors, both foreign and local. I love hearing about the ideas, the processes, the book talks. It's a great way to spend an hour on the weekend.

This weekend I made it to a couple of sessions on the Sunday afternoon. 

As usual, I left buying my tickets a little late. Some of the sessions I would have loved to attend were booked out. Yet, I made it to a couple of great sessions on Sunday afternoon. 

The first session at the Athenaeum was Susan Choi in conversation with Beejay Silcox. Susan Choi is an academic, teacher and author of six books. Silcox, a book editor, got to fangirl over Choi for the hour. As somebody whose book made the Booker Shortlist, I was keen to see what she had to say. 

The second session was with RF Kuang (also known as Rebecca to her friends and family). She's the current literary wunderkind. At 30, she already has six published novels. Her lit-fantasy book, Babel, was Book of the Year in England. Yellowface was the love/hate book of two years ago. Her next tome, Katabasis, is on my TBR pile.  As much as I disliked Yellowface, I did enjoy Babel, so was willing to give her my time. 

In both sessions, the conversation was lively - thought provoking. Everything from patchwork quilting (which was a metaphor for later drafts of a novel) to AI, to how you can be so prolific (Kuang - at 30 - has six large books published - freak), to writing processes, to how introverts manage to take centre stage at these events. 

Food for thought? Absolutely. Inspiring, indeed. Soul building. Of course. 

I got to spend a few hours with my tribe. I'll keep attending these Festivals. It gives me something to work towards (Says she with two novels at the 80,000-word mark that I've never finished. I CAN do this.)

Today's song: