REVIEW: ‘Art’ is a modest portrait of friendship falling apart

REVIEW: ‘Art’ is a modest portrait of friendship falling apart

“More a play about friendship than painting, Repertory Philippines’ new production is a modest but still compelling study of the wounds we’d rather not discuss.”

 

Much like the large, all-white abstract painting at the center of Repertory Philippines’ Art, this French play (written by Yasmina Reza in 1994 and translated to English by Christopher Hampton) isn’t what it appears to be at first glance. Rather than concern itself too much with any philosophies or critical approaches to art, this story instead uses the sale of an expensive artwork to look into the straining relationships between three longtime friends.

As its characters descend into more and more bickering, the production and its trio of solid performances keep the arguments within a compellingly grey area, refusing to impose one point of view over another. Nobody here is meant to win or lose, as they gradually reveal deeper wounds that none of them really want to talk about. And while Art could afford to give itself more color and personality, the show still makes its modest stakes worth getting invested in. 

Men Being Boys

Nobody’s life is on the line in this play, but Reza’s script isn’t shallow, nor does it oversimplify the qualities of modernist artworks. It’s just that when dermatologist Serge (played by Martin Sarreal) unveils the all-white painting to his friends—engineer Marc (Freddy Sawyer) and salesman Yvan (Brian Sy)—all talk of artistic value becomes secondary to the practical concerns of buying art for 200,000 francs. As Serge and Marc grow hostile over each other’s pretentiousness (and as Yvan naively tries siding with both of them), what emerges from the fighting is the fear that these men have of things changing beyond their control.

All of this plays out in lightly humorous fashion, though the dialogue tends to rely on the repetition of certain lines to try and make them funny—an oddly flat choice on Reza’s part that director Victor Lirio understandably has more difficulty executing. Where the comedy really becomes potent is in how the situation builds: unbeknownst to these characters, they’re just playing their own idea of what a grown-up is without having grown beyond their respective insecurities. Serge insists on staying fashionable with the times, Marc rejects this out of excessive pride, and Yvan would rather be a doormat than grow a spine.

Chasing Complexity

What Lirio does to keep these feuding personalities on a level playing field is a fairly simple choice that significantly changes how we hear each argument: the actors almost always stay on stage even if their characters aren’t in every scene or meant to hear every internal monologue. So as each of them talks behind their friends’ backs, the actors are there to hear everything. And so every judgment is returned by the gaze of the person they’re talking about—emphasizing how all of them are really just too scared to be honest with each other.

With that said, this production also makes other choices that still seem unclear in their purpose. Lirio’s use of a bell and drawn-out scene changes seem to gesture towards additional ideas that don’t really lead anywhere, while moments of idle silence meant to be either tense or vulnerable feel more like waiting time. It feels as if the show is still figuring out how best to make use of its clean and un-intrusive Parisian apartment setting (designed by Miguel Urbino). It’s chasing the kind of complexity that the all-white painting gives off with ease: not too outlandish, not amateurish, and welcoming any and all interpretations.

Sincerely Insincere

This balance is modestly captured through the play’s cast, who approach the material with a frankness that may come off overly mannered but appropriate for how inauthentic these characters are meant to be to each other. This is especially seen in Sarreal and Sawyer as Serge and Marc, whose glimpses of affection for each other don’t hit as hard as they could, but whose commitment to believing they’re in the right is always convincing. And as the increasingly bewildered and confrontation-avoidant Yvan, Sy finds plenty of comedy in the character’s reluctance—while still making it sting when his feelings are caught in the crossfire.

Strictly speaking, none of the characters in Art are likable, but they’re all sympathetic in their own ways, and that’s what makes the difference. As superficial as some of their points of argument can be, Reza’s script finds something honest about how these men are really just looking for a sense of stability in each other, and lashing out as they try to figure out how to be adults in a changing world. By the time the tension reaches its peak, all the petty squabbling means much more than it did at the beginning, and the painting begins to look more than just white.

Tickets: P2575 – P3090
Show Dates: June 13–21 2025
Venue: REP Eastwood Theater, Eastwood City Walk, Quezon City
Running Time: approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes (without intermission)
Company: Repertory Philippines
Creatives: Yasmina Reza (Playwright), Christopher Hampton (Translation), Victor Lirio (Direction), Miguel Urbino (Production Design), Miriam Nilofa Crowe (Lighting Design), Fabian Obispo (Music, Sound Design), GA Fallarme (Projection Design), Zoe Littleton (Voice Coach), Maisie Carter (Fight Direction), Uriel Villar (Assistant Direction), Joseph G. Matheu (Technical Direction)
Cast: Martin Sarreal, Brian Sy, Freddy Sawyer