by Ian Diddams
images by Jim McCauley
The power of three. Three men. Three apartments. Three items of furniture. Three snacks bowls. Three types of drink on a drinks trolley. Three revolving periaktoi (triangular columns) for set backdrops. Three paintings. And three mothers for Ivan’s nuptials.
Its all about the threes.
Beginning with the three friends; Serge, Mark and Ivan, long standing best buddies. They are all three, different in temperaments and styles, but they have been the closest of chums for a decade and a half. Serge is the intellectual of the trio, an air of sophistication (trying a tad too hard) – bohemian in appearance, an open necked shirt with red cravat, dark slacks with tan shoes, worn sockless.
Mark is the group’s cynical pragmatist; sensible, standard clothes with a muffler; it reflects his – if not austere – plain, unfussed approach to life, viewed almost as binary perspectives… right/wrong, black/white, good/bad, brilliant/ rubbish.
Ivan completes the set as an overly contrite peacemaker and doormat, rather messily attired … he is not a man bothered with outward appearances; creased, rumpled trousers, dark brown shoes and a loose fitting white shirt topped off with a nondescript, baggy cardigan buttoned up incorrectly.. The three together present an asexual ménage à trois, each interwoven into each others lives inseparably … yet the threads of that grouping are unravelling. Slowly at first, but gathering pace throughout until towards the very end it is all but destroyed.
We learn that whilst Ivan is unbothered with external appearance he does bother with personal relationships and cerebral challenges created by the clashes within such relationships. He is distraught that the bond between the three of them is breaking, appalled that his best friends in turn deride him, laugh at him, and even despise him – and his fiancée. His mental turmoil over his upcoming wedding is more grist to his mill of anguish, as three mothers – his fiancée’s, his birth mother and his step-mother (who he detests) – insist on being listed in invitations but not with others in that triumvirate.
Serge has bought a work of art. Worthy of the appellation … ART. It cost a six figure sum. He is haughtily both delighted and pretentious about it. Mark has no time for it whatsoever – he certainly views the painting as irrelevant pretension, and a thorough waste of money. He resents that in fact the ART has supplanted him in Serge’s affections, it is now more important than he is. Ivan as befits his non confrontational nature agrees with Mark but cannot bring himself to say so to Serge, and so ends up in twisted discussions with the two others around his alleged appreciation to one and his utmost horror with the other.
This in a nutshell is the crux of the play … growing mutual dislikes whilst seeking the vestiges of a long held connection, sheering into temporary alliances of two versus one, that interchange as the rambling discussion verging on full-on battle moves around various aspects of their shared past.
The above suggests the story is a tragic, hard one… but it is full of laugh out loud moments, especially with Serge’s passive-aggressive responses, Mark’s aloof insouciance and Ivan’s bumbling attempts to reconcile everything and equally bumbling almost uncontrollably through the tiniest of life’s challenges … what DOES one do with a grape seed?
The three actors are nothing short of perfect in their roles. Sam Fynn once more shows his talent with a polished performance of Serge, full of pretentiousness (Serge, not Sam!). Ben Dalton is just exquisitely annoying as the no nonsense, brook no shit, call a spade a fucking shovel Mark. And Andrew Chapman delightfully reprises a little of his Henry Carr (Travesties, Bath Drama, October 2025) to present the troubled-waters smoothing Ivan, desperate to retain the friends’ group as it drifts apart before his eyes.
Lauren Arena-McCann wanted to direct this show, written by Yasmina Reza since she saw it on Broadway some years ago, as its story shows how changes over time present different versions of ourselves; her touches throughout the show are clear from the clever use of threes, to building tension as the play races to its conclusion. Lauren though is not alone in bringing wonderful touches to the Rondo this week though – set designer extraordinaire, Rich Canning has built a tour de force with those three periaktoi forming each apartment’s rear wall. Chapeau!
It would also be remiss not to acknowledge the eponymous props that are quite literally centre stage throughout. Each apartment has a different painting on that rear wall. And each of those three paintings is a real life work of art by David Wood, at least two of which are globally unique … including the very piece of ART that the play centres on. Tech as ever delivered by the faithful Alex Latham and back stage management by Connor Palmer (doubling up as assistant director) and James Dennis, costumes so subtly precise for each character by Chloe Harris.
So all that remains is report on the ending … is the threesome’s split irreconcilable? Is there a last minute reprieve for them all? Which of Ivan’s mother and step-mother will appear on the wedding invitations? Will that bottle of brandy ever run out? What has skiing got to do with paintings?
And what DO you do with a grape seed?
Ah, well… if you’ve read this far and want to find out, there’s just one way to do so… Get along to the Rondo this week and see it. You wont be disappointed, as at just a hundred minutes long as a single act the pubs will still be open when you leave.
Tickets are available here https://www.ticketsource.com/rondotheatre/art/e-qrxgaa and “Art” is performed October 7th to 10th 2026, at 7.30pm.
And go and enjoy some genuine
