The award-winning dark comedy, Art, comes to the Chesil Theatre, Winchester, from February 6 to 13 and tickets are now available from the Theatre Royal Box Office.

Written by popular French playwright, Yasmina Reza, with a witty, elegant translation by Christopher Hampton, the play is a touching portrayal of friendship under stress.

Serge has bought a painting. It’s very big and it’s very white. Marc, a realist, thinks it’s pretentious rubbish; to Serge it brings joy. The third friend, Yvan, is really not sure...

about anything.

Their disparate feelings force them to re-evaluate a 15-year friendship. Can the rift be healed or is it too deep? Can the bonds between them be made stronger after home truths are revealed?

Director, Flavia Bateson, said: “Art premièred in Paris in 1995. Since then, it has been produced worldwide, translated and performed in over 30 languages.

“The original London production, with Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott, received both the Laurence Olivier and Evening Standard Awards and we are delighted to be performing this modern classic at the Chesil.”

Performance times are: Saturday, February 6, and Monday, February 8, to Saturday, February 13, at 7.45pm. There will also be a matinée on Saturday February 13, at 2.30pm.

Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal Box Office, in Jewry Street, Winchester, or call 01962 840440.

For further information, visit the Chesil Theatre’s website, www.chesiltheatre.org.uk.