Written by: Mahnaz Shujrah
Posted on: February 21, 2018 | 
| 中文
Art (Source: LATZ)
A tale of three friends struggling to understand themselves and their friendship with each other; this story sounds like one we’ve all heard before. To give it a new twist, add to it a simple yet profound work of art, consisting of a white background with white lines; art that finds itself at the very center of a complex friendship.
An internationally popular, award winning play, “Art” was recently performed in Pakistan for the first time. After successful performances in Karachi and Islamabad, the play arrived in Pakistan’s cultural centre Lahore. Written by a French playwright, Yasmina Reza, and translated into English by Christopher Hampton, the play first opened in Paris in 1994. Since then it has remained quite popular, running for six years in London and 600 shows on Broadway, where it also won the Tony Award for best new play.
Organized by the Lahore Amateur Theatre Zealots (LATZ), in collaboration with Alliance Francaise Lahore, the play was given a new spin by introducing three female characters as the main leads, as opposed to the male actors in the original play. LATZ, founded in 2017 by Huma Ijaz, Omair Rana, Tughral Ali, and Tulin Khalid-Azim, aims to play an active role in reviving Pakistan’s theatrical tradition. Last year they debuted with, “Dil- e-Nadan,” in Lahore, followed by “The Good Doctor.”
The play revolves around three best friends, Serge, Marc and Yvan, who have been friends for around 15 years. Unique in their own ways, the characters shed light on different perspectives on life. Serge (Iman Shahid), a dermatologist with a fine taste for modern art, has just bought a very expensive painting worth a hundred thousand euros. Marc (Mariam Saleem), an aeronautical engineer with a biting sense of humor, is bewildered, in fact furious, at her friend’s extravagance. Yvan (Zainab Ahmed), who is getting married shortly, is caught in the middle of this tension, unable to defend either side, or herself. This peculiar work of art, a white painting with white lines, becomes a point of argument for the three friends. Marc will not admit that Serge can possibly admire something so utterly useless, and Serge has had enough with Marc’s limited and judgmental attitude. Yvan cannot upset either one by taking sides, and is targeted by both. The situation only goes downhill from here.
The play is directed by Tugral A.T Ali and produced by Huma Zaman. The script was well-written and the three actors adopted it splendidly. This was the first time when three female actors were cast as the leads, but as a member of the audience I could not imagine it being any other way. The actors were completely natural in their acting and dialogue delivery, which was all in English. Zainab Ahmed as Yvan particularly stood out, evoking empathy in the audience through her monologues. While the play consisted mainly of conversation amongst the characters, the monologues where the scene would freeze, and each character expressed their personal thoughts, greatly added to the impact of the play.
The set was minimal, showing the living room of Serge, where most of the action takes place. The characters had three completely different personalities, and this was conveyed through their tone, body language and habits. The distinctive outfits were also carefully chosen, to be representative of certain “types” of people. Barely any sounds were used, and perhaps well-timed music could have added another dimension to the play.
Nevertheless, the play has a wide appeal, as the basic human emotions involved in friendships are something we can all relate to. It brings to light our internal conflicts, including the compromises we choose to make, and at times, not make. One of Yvan’s dialogues, my favorite line from the evening in fact was, “Nothing essential in the world, nothing beautiful in the world, has ever been born by rational argument,” and in this lies the essence of the play.
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