CAA-Witherle Play Reading Group: “Art” by Yasmina Reza
We meet regularly through the winter to read plays that we choose as a group.
On the 25th, we’ll read Art, a one-act play by Yasmina Reza, set in a Paris apartment shared by three friends. The plot centers around the contentious purchase of a minimalist painting, essentially a white canvas, which Serge buys for a substantial sum. This acquisition ignites a heated debate among the friends about the value of contemporary art, friendship, and personal integrity.
(The play) premiered in Berlin and opened in 1994 in Paris, where foreign rights were bought by actor Sean Connery. It won the Molière Award for Best Play, Best Production, and Best Author. The play proved its international appeal by collecting the 1996 Evening Standard Award, London’s Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1997 and the 1998 Tony Award, as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play during performances on Broadway, and the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Drama League nominations for Best Play.
Copies of the script are available at the library. If you would like to join the Zoom audience please email kathryn@witherlelibrary.net. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.