After originating as a French play back in the mid nineties and then almost a decade in London’s West End, Yasmina Reza’s award-winning comedy is back on the road this Autumn and it’s wonderful to see it return.

This translation by Christopher Hampton is sharp, clever and witty. The premise is a simple one. Serge (Chris Harper) has purchased a piece of art for £200,000 but, much to his two best friends’ confusion, it is plain white. What follows are themes of friendship, love and hate between three men who start a light-hearted discussion on the white canvas but it soon descends into chaos as truths are told and relationships torn.

Reza’s Olivier & Moliere winning comedy has always attracted star casting. The likes of Roger Allam, Nigel Havers, Albert Finney and Brian Cox are just a few of the names to have played some of the roles over the years. This time it’s down to Seann Walsh, Aden Gillett and Chris Harper and the threesome are superb throughout. Comedian Walsh’s rather eccentric ‘Yvan’, often stuck in the middle of disagreements between his two so-called ‘friends’, is obviously a natural for comic timing and he intelligently rinses all the laughs possible from the piece. Gillett plays the truth-telling ‘Marc’ exquisitely, his moments of rage pitched perfectly, and Harper’s ‘Serge’ is sensitive yet headstrong, often the driving force of the play.

Iqbal Khan directs a slick production which drifts along safely in one act for 80 minutes. Ciaran Bagnall’s ingenious set and lighting design really helps bring the piece to life and there’s a fitting original sound design from Max Pappenheim too.

It’s probably amusing instead of hilarious but it’s an enjoyable and intriguing production, just like the white painting…

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