Ambition. Sex. Lies. Art. How far would you go to achieve your dreams? That is one of the burning questions at the heart of Keith Bunin’s sexy and tantalising play The Credeaux Canvas at the Seymour Centre for a limited season from 29 January.
Winston, a young painter, shares an East Village apartment with Jamie – the son of a prominent art dealer. With the death of Jamie’s father, who has disinherited him, sets him spinning into the depths of despair. It seems that neither Winston nor Jamie’s girlfriend, Amelia, can do anything to help him.
But then Jamie has a brilliant idea. On his way home from the reading of the will Jamie ran into Tess, one of his father’s richest, most important collectors. Jamie lied to Tess, telling her that his father left him one in a series of the rarest of all of Credeaux’s canvases and that she must buy it.
Convinced that they will all three be set, Jamie talks Winston (who is studying Credeaux) into inventing this painting with Amelia as the model. The relationships between the three begin to shift as their needs and desires become more evident.
Once the painting is completed, and Tess enters their lives, everything comes out in the open, and no one escapes unscathed – the damage, tragically done.
“Keith Bunin’s play was one of the first theatre pieces to explore the whole question of entitlement, one of the main traits among what would become known as Generation Y,” says Producer Les Solomon.
“The play seems even more relevant a decade later as we have seen some of the failings of this generation and their desire to have everything financially with the minimum effort for the maximum profit.”
“But as we prepared the show, we came to see that much of the appeal comes from the witty writing, the fully-fleshed characters and that mix of comedy and drama where laughs turn to tragedy in a short time.”
Keith Bunin is an American dramatist and screenwriter. His plays include The Credeaux Canvas (2001), The World Over (2003), and The Busy World is Hushed (2006) – all of which have been produced by Playwrights Horizons. His other plays include Vera Laughed, The Principality of Sorrows, The King of Clocks, and A Joke.
He wrote the book for the musical 10 Million Miles, which was produced Off-Broadway by the Atlantic Theatre Company, and has written for Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and HBO.
“One of the finest contemporary dramas to come out of the US. . . The brushstrokes are deft and expressive, and its aspiring characters are keenly-observed. The economy of the language is worth savouring.” – The New York Times
Director: Ross McGregor Featuring: Emilie Cocquerel, Carmen Duncan, Felix Johnson, James Wright
The Credeaux Canvas Reginald Theatre – Seymour Centre, City Road, Chippendale Season: 29 January – 14 February 2015 Bookings: (02) 9351 7940 or online at: www.seymourcentre.com
For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/credeauxcanvas for details.
Image: supplied