The edited review appeared in the Swindon Advertiser (www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk) on 12 September 2006.

Art

By Yasmina Reza
Performed by Old Town Theatre Company

Old Town Theatre Company is one of the first amateur companies in the country to attempt Yasmina Reza's award-winning play 'Art'. I saw it at the Wyvern a little while ago with Simon Shepherd and two other actors, whose names escape me for a moment.

To quote director Wendy Vickery, this complex, viciously funny and, at times, disturbing, play touches a nerve we can all recognise.

It is a cleverly written play spanning many emotions including the self-destruct button which we all have. It's all about a completely white canvas bought for an extraordinary fee by Serge, played superbly by Peter Edge-Partington. This guy is a natural on stage, with a wonderful, easy-listening speaking voice and beautiful diction. Lance Hodges played Marc as only he can: brilliantly. The third member of the cast, Paul Saunders, as Yvan, completely stole the thing with a superb display of acting that could easily have been pantomime, but wasn't. He had the facial expression and pathos and all the other emotions synonymous with the part.

It is not very often I can sit through a whole production and find nothing negative to say. This was once such evening. Even down to the manly leather sofa and simple metal structures depicting the guys' different living accommodation. One dear little lady in the audience didn't like it, which shows how as a critic we actually see why it's done, don't you think? A change of flowers and a single picture showed the different residences of the characters. This made it an hour and a half of dynamic acting with no break.

There isn't much more to say really, except that in the intimate atmosphere of the Arts Centre I am sure I enjoyed this more than the professional production. Perhaps that's because I felt closer to the action and could actually see the expressions on the faces of the actors more clearly. I don't really know. I just know that once again OTTC triumphed due to great casting, excellent directing, lighting, scenery and sound. All the things that make a truly professional attitude to their work and, ultimately, a memorable production.

Ros Hollands