The art of staying silent
Sue Arnold -- The Guardian, 14.v.00

If all successful West End plays transferred to radio as seamlessly as Yasmina Reza's "Art" (Radio 3) last Sunday, I'd probably never go to the theatre again. Admittedly this intimate, intricate, wordy all-male three-hander is ideally suited to radio. It's the sort of play you can afford to watch from a cheap seat with restricted viewing because all the drama is in the words. Since it opened in October 1996, "Art" has had 14 changes of cast, including some impressive names - Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney Jack Dee. Even so, it is hard to think of any combination of voices as perfectly suited to their characters as Alan Bates, Simon Russell Beale and Michael Gambon.

"Art" is essentially a play about friendship or male bonding, as it is called these days, in which nuances of tone are crucial. On stage, even from a restricted view seat, small movements, a gesture, a glance might cause you to miss that all-important change of inflection but on the radio, with nothing but the voice, it's an altogether different experience, like a shot of single malt without soda or ice.

Communicating wordlessly on the radio is not easy, but when Serge and Marc (Bates and Gambon) are listening to Yvan's interminable monologue about his wedding invitations you do not need to see their faces to gauge their reaction. Their silence says it all. |||