Tonight's the night when auditions begin for the Bermuda Festival 2002 amateur production of Yasmina Reza's award-winning dark comedy, `Art' -- but only male actors need apply.

The 90-minute play calls for a cast of just three men, so competition for the plum roles is expected to be keen.

"The play is as good as the players, so the stronger the team the finer the performance will be,'' Mr. Mollica says. "As long as the actors have an appreciation for what the writer is trying to achieve, talent will come through naturally.'' The play centres around a piece of art for which one of the men, Serge, has paid a huge price. Marc hates it and cannot believe that a friend of his could possibly want such a work. Yvan attempts, unsuccessfully, to placate both sides.

The characters of the three actors are defined as: Marc -- a man whose tastes are classical, and who has traditional values. An aeronautical engineer who thinks methodically, he despises modern art and delights in running it down.

There is an arrogance about him, and he has a short temper. Marc sees himself as a mentor to his friends.

Serge, on the other hand, is very much into contemporary art. A dermatologist with a failed marriage, he matches Marc for intellect and becomes enormously protective toward the painting.

Serge has recently moved away from Marc's classical circle, and now socialises with others who share his passion for art.

Yvan is the joker of the group -- a man who wants to please everybody, but ends up pleasing nobody. He wants people to like him, and they do. Soon to be married, he is stressed by the arrangements, and does not really care about art.

The dark comedy, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, explores the complications of friendship.

If friendship is based on tacit mutual agreement, what happens when one person does something completely different and unexpected? The question arises: Are you who you think you are, or are you who your friends think you are? "Art' is entertaining on one level and on another it tackles weighty humanist elements bubbling beneath the surface,'' director Marc Mollica says. "It's strength is that the audience can identify with at least one of the characters, if not all three.'' When Ms Reza accepted the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, she expressed surprise, saying she hadn't realised she had written a comedy. In fact, in France `Art' is regarded as a serious play, whereas the opposite is true in Britain.

While not denying that the issues of friendship explored in the play are weighty, Mr. Mollica promises that there is at least one comedic episode which he "guarantees'' will have "even the most hardened theatregoer rolling in the aisles''.

Although the Bermuda production of `Art' will be an amateur one, and is produced by the Bermuda Festival Ltd. in collaboration with the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society, it will be directed by Marc Mollica, whose has directed three productions of the play at the Wyndham Theatre in London's famed West End.

The contentious piece of art that is central to the play will be "carefully crafted with love'' in Bermuda, as will the sets and lighting designs.

Rehearsals will begin in January next year, and performances are scheduled for February.

Mr. Mollica serves as artistic director of the experimental Threadbare Theatre Company, and also as a director at many West End theatres including the Palace, New Empire and Springfield.

He is a lecturer at South East Essex College, conducts drama workshops at Stagecoach, and is a Director of Children's drama workshops at Cliffs Pavilion Theatre.

Mr. Mollica's training includes participation in the director's forum at the Royal National Theatre Studio and studies in the performing arts at Mountview Theatre School.

Audition times for tonight and tomorrow are 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Further auditions will be held on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 12 noon, and short listed candidates will be called back on Saturday afternoon.

Audition pieces are available from both Daylesford Theatre and the Rock Island Cafe, and everyone is welcome to audition or assist with the production.

For further information telephone the Festival at 295-1291 or Monica Dobbie at 236-3013.