Rodney Rigby, Marriner Group, Paul Wheelton AM and State Theatre of South Australia. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 20 May 2026
ART is a good vehicle for a trio of old mates to tour for a good time. Richard Roxburgh (Rake, The Correspondent), Adelaide-born Damon Herriman (Justified, Flesh and Bone), and Toby Schmitz (Boy Swallows Universe, Black Sails) will attract their film fans to the theatre to see the real deal, without the bother of viewing lesser mortals on stage.
French playwright Yasmina Reza won a Tony and a Laurence Olivier and a New York Drama Critics’ Circle and an Evening Standard and a Drama Desk award for her play soon after she wrote it in 1994. ART is regularly performed by even more famous actors in New York and London, and a movie announced this year will star Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell and Wagner Moura.
Dermatologist Serge gets under the skin of his chum, Marc, because Serge bought a painting - whose value is in the eye of the beholder – for 160,000. The first monochromatic white painting is indeed art. The second was a copy and a decoration. I think we all know that Serge hasn’t bought the original, so maybe Marc has a point? Or why can’t his pal simply indulge… I could go on. Marc and Serge both attempt to enrol their dorky mutual friend, Yvan, to their artistic sensibility. But the art is only a catalyst for comical mansplaining and deep and meaningfuls about friendship, integrity, and perhaps moving on.
The acting trio play strongly developed characterisations. Herriman as the art buyer, Serge, shouts all his justifications with determined intellectualism. Schmitz could have modelled his role after Michael Richard’s Kramer from the US sitcom, Seinfeld. He earned applause for a breathless and comical monologue that was only half over – when he took a breath. Roxburgh’s animated use of language, intonation and gesture came close to over-the-top many times but otherwise made playwright Reza’s ordinary moments levitate to splendour. The comic magic and heartfelt honesty really arise with the actors’ razor repartee.
Director Lee Lewis, Reza and the designers leave many clues. Onto the seemingly blank canvas we could reflect on our own friendships. Where do they come from? Where should they go? Yvan is costumed like a clown in a rodeo separating the bucked and the bronco. The antagonist Marc wears black while the protagonist Serge wears white. They are like chessmen. Playwright brilliance is when the upper hand rapidly switches, but here they also swap these literary roles. That’s good art.
So we have a Frenchwoman writing about rub-a-dub-dub – three men in a tub, each somewhere on their personal acronymic spectrum. Not flattering but very funny and thought-provoking. At least one of the characters is getting therapy.
Pretty short season – show closes 24 May
David Grybowski
When: 20 to 24 May
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: statetheatrecompany.com.au
