Yasmina Reza’s “art” doesn’t need an introduction, but if you wanted to give one anyway, you could start with a lot of pathos: there’s often a picture on the stage, white with white stripes, and that’s exactly the problem. Because white – be careful – can mean many things: the good, the pure, especially the wise, but white also stands for: nothing. For infinity à la Matrix, the absence of meaning, form, boundaries. All of this would certainly not be wrong, but it would not do justice to the clever production by Dominik Wilgenbus in the Hofspielhaus.
The well-known play by the successful French author, in which three friends argue about how much art there is in a completely white, sinfully expensive picture, does not have any heaviness. Of course, the overall situation also plays its part, i.e. the charming atmosphere in the Hofspielhaus, the familiar narrow rows of seats, the manageable stage in the basement. But what is even more decisive is how lightly the poignant arguments and monologues of the three men, wallowing in self-reflection, unfold their effect.
It is thanks to the acting performance of everyone involved that the many nuances of meaning and nuances are not violently dragged to the surface; the disagreement about what this picture actually is slowly reveals the sources of conflict “under the iceberg” of a long-standing friendship – “a shit”, as Markus Beisl emphasizes in the role of the cynical Marc, or a masterpiece of red-grey beauty, according to the conviction Serge, self-certified art connoisseur, played by Leon Sandner.
The constellation is given special flavor because the good-natured and conflict-averse Yvan is older than his friends, contrary to the original version – this has consequences: As a contrast to the proudly ill Marc and Serge, he is intended as a figurehead anyway; Michael A. Grimm, the most experienced actor on the stage, lends such an expansive presence to the “slack, flabby presumption” (Marc quote) that it almost steals the show from the action itself – but only almost, almost, how Yvan would say that the staging never completely loses its balance. She is skilled in terms of craftsmanship anyway, so the stage around the picture presents itself as “unwhite” as possible in pure gray and black tones.
Finally, a fly in the ointment: In a few moments, the evening wants to force its own lightness after all – when Serge and Marc get dangerously close while getting dressed or the three of them ficklely compete in putting on gloves, the scenery seems a bit too slapstick-like and intentionally funny. But these slip-ups are manageable; as “art” shows, it is ultimately subjective.
Yasmina Reza’s “Art”, Hofspielhaus, Falkenturmstr. 8, next performance on May 13, info and tickets at www.hofspielhaus.de