Art Review

A bunch of us tippled sherry at the Old Mill last night, waiting for the bells to ring and the drama to unfold. “Art” seemed a good choice for our mob – two of whom are painters, with one achieving a mystical 96% in Deconstructing – I'm with Marc on that! AND she knew the real painter of the White canvas! But no names! No curtain either! Did the understated Mr Bloor refuse to pull ropes, let alone strings? A minimalist set – white, with a dash of black, just like the play. Good touch. I might have put a steel staircase, or a window in the back wall – it looked a touch blank, but the bareness of the set (bared souls?) worked well, with the stark, white, very focused spotlighting. The focus was on the three actors and the stunningly believable force of their personalities. Dean Schulze adroitly plays surgeon Serge, with that inherent smugness such medicos sometimes display. Marc Blades as Mark is an angry Peter Garrett creature, caught in the glare of his vampire need of attention and mid-life despair. Mike Anthony Sheehy plays Yvan wonderfully, as a Black Adder / Black Books fop, the meat in the sandwich of the others' testosterone power play. Playwright Yasmina Reza has no right to understand the male psyche this well. It's a little unnerving to think that we urbanised warriors are so transparent. Power, pecking order and personal issues are secret men's business for f$%^* sake! It's a searing, funny, sad, poignant, utterly believable vignette of three mates exposed in the ever-present shadow of male aggression. Bits of me swirled to the surface of all three characters, so true did the dialogue ring. Sue Lynch has cast this perfectly. Dean is the smooth surgeon, Mark is that venomous, angry, lost man and Mike IS the walk-all-over-me, desperate-to-be-liked loser. The part of Yvan in less practised hands could be annoying, but in Mike Anthony's care, the character fills the entire theatre. The pathos and comic timing is bloody magnificent. I'm jealous. Sadly, there's only one night left to see this masterpiece. Congratulations. This was not amateur theatre. It was fabulous theatre. And it's wonderful to see the Old Girl striking out with thought provoking modern dramatic fare. Who knows, perhaps there's room for the Old Mill to take on the Blue Room? Disclaimer! Dean and Mike Anthony are friends, as are Sue, Peter and Siobhan. And yes, should I not have liked the production, I would have chosen the sounds of silence. All Good Things A Muse