University Players - File

ART, the newest University Players production, is set to open on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus.

ART features three of Jamaica's top actors; Munair Zacca, Paul Issa and Alwyn Scott. In addition, Jean-Paul Menou, will be understudying all three roles.

Award-winning and artistic director Brian Heap is again at the helm of this production.

The story of ART revolves around three friends - Serge (Paul Issa), Marc (Munair Zacca) and Yvan (Alwyn Scott) - who find their solid 15-year friendship on shaky ground when Serge buys an expensive painting.

Approval

Serge is proud of his extravagant acquisition and fully expects to have the approval of his friends.

Marc expresses his disapproval, but is it the painting that offends him, or the uncharacteristic independence of thought that the purchase reveals in Serge?

For the insecure Yvan, burdened by the problems of his impending wedding and his dissatisfaction at his job as a stationery salesman, their friendship is his sanctuary ... but his attempts at peace-making backfires.

Lines are drawn and the three friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their heated arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendship.

Awards

The University Players have established themselves as a major force in Jamaican theatre since the revival of the group in 2003. They have been the recipients of several Actor Boy Awards for a string of memorable productions including One of Our Sons is Missing, The Black that I Am, Maharani's Misery and their highly inventive staging of Polly Teale's play After Mrs Rochester, which the Players also took to Barbados.

As a not-for-profit group, the University Players aim to provide a choice of theatrical experiences including alternative forms of performance, as well as innovative and experimental theatre.