TEHRAN-The play “Art” written by the French writer Yasmina Reza will begin its performances at Iranshahr Theater in Tehran from mid-May.

The play, translated and directed by Alireza Koushk-Jalali, will go on stage on May 16, Honaronline reported.

The comedy, which raises questions about art and friendship, concerns three long-time friends, Serge, Marc, and Yvan. Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as a result of their differing opinions about what constitutes art. Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to please and mollify both of them.

Sam Kaboudvand, Mohamad Sedighi-Mehr, and Armin Rahimian are the three actors in Koushk-Jalali’s play.

At the beginning and end of the play, and for most of the scenes set in Serge's flat, the large white painting is on prominent display. It focuses on the meaning of art and friendship, to both the man who bought the painting and the two friends who came to see it.

The Tony Award-winning play “Art” premiered in 1994 at Comédie des Champs-Élysées in Paris and went on to win the Molière Award for Best Author. The play subsequently ran in London in 1996 and on Broadway in 1998. The London production received the 1996-97 Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award. In the past 30 years, the play has been produced internationally and translated and performed in over 30 languages.

Yasmina Reza, 65, is a French playwright, actress, novelist, and screenwriter best known for her plays “Art” and “God of Carnage”. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. 

Koushk-Jalali, 66, is an Iranian theater director and playwright. Currently, he resides in Cologne, Germany, where he has also staged several plays.

“Art” will be performed until June 21 at Iranshahr Theater located in Artists Park on North Mousavi Street, Taleqani Street.

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