Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto- A simple white canvas. A $200,000 price tag. The real cost? 15 years of friendship. Acclaimed independent Column 13 Actors Company presents Yasmina Reza’s scathing dark comedy Art. Translated by Christopher Hampton, the play examines the pressures friends place on one another and asks the question: are you who you think you are, or are you who your friends want you to be? Column 13 will present the Tony award-winning play, from February 26th to March 8th for eight performances at Unit 102 Theatre.
When Serge, a novice art collector, asks his two friends to view his newly acquired work of art, this "priceless" piece tests their fifteen-year friendship and causes them to validate their self-worth. Insults and arguments shift from the theoretical and artistic to the very private and personal, as their friendship is examined and put to the ultimate test.
ART is a dark and wildly funny comedy about the exploration of artistic appreciation and the boundaries at which a friendship can be pushed. How much would you pay for a white painting? Would it matter who the painter was? Would it be art?
First produced in Paris in 1994, the play won the Molière Award for Best Author. Translated by Christopher Hampton (Les Liaisons Dangereuses), the play skyrocketed Yasmina Reza to international fame, as subsequent London and Broadway productions won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the Tony Award for Best Play respectively.
The production is directed by Jonah Allison, and features John Healy, Allison and Brandon Thomas. Set and costumes are designed by Marvin Araneta, and the production is stage managed by Anna Plugina.
PLAY: Art
PLAYWRIGHT: Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton
DIRECTOR: Jonah Allison
WHERE: Unit 102 Theatre, 376 Dufferin St @ Queen St West
WHEN: Preview: Wednesday February 26th 8:00pm
Opening: Thursday, February 27th 8:00pm
Friday, February 28th 8:00pm
Saturday, March 1st 8:00pm
Wednesday, March 5th 8:00pm
Thursday, March 6th 8:00pm
Friday, March 7th 8:00pm
Saturday, March 8th 8:00pm
COST: $20, except for Feb 26th and 27th are pay-what-you-want
TICKETS: online at www.secureaseat.com/art or (416) 414-6745 or artplay2014@gmail.com
COLUMN 13 is a diverse, actor based company who wish to tell relevant stories using a raw and honest approach. The ensemble believes in THEATRE NOW; that our work should be immediate to the society in which we live. Through the creation of new, as well as existing works, Column 13 strives to use theatre as a means to challenge and incite the human spirit.
Column 13 Actors Company has been gaining a reputation as a gritty, tenacious actor-based ensemble since its official inception in 2004, and has been consistently bringing audiences the Toronto premieres of both American and Canadian plays ever since. In 2007, Column 13 produced the Toronto premieres of Stephen Adly Guirgis plays Our Lady of 121st Street and In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings to rave reviews. Eye Weekly gave the play 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “If you want to see a fascinating play bursting with powerful performances, make a beeline to the Alchemy Studio Theatre… Jonah Allison’s incisive direction has drawn committed, truthful performances from the entire cast. What comes across most is the sense that the entire cast is working with the same fierce unity of purpose.” Jon Kaplan of NOW magazine wrote “The troupe’s developing a voice for this kind of gritty comedy/drama…Here’s one case where 13 is a lucky number.”
2014-02-06
Toronto: Column 13 presents Yasmina Reza's comedy "Art" February 27-March 8