A Parisian man spends 200,000 francs on a blank white canvas. This provokes utter contempt and consternation from his best friend and triggers a debate about art, culture and modern values, which unfolds throughout Art.

At the heart of the play are the tensions and dynamics between three friends who met when young and who in middle age have evolved in different directions, which each finds disagreeable to the other.

Art was written by French playwright Yazmina Reza to expose the snobbery of the Parisian middle and upper classes in general and towards art in particular. It became a hit show in the West End in the 1990s and has won numerous awards.

It has been brought to life with energy and vivacity by student company Charenton Productions.

The action consists of various stages of an argument between Serge, Marc and Yvan, interspersed with a monologue of the inner thoughts of each character.

The actors give spirited performances, Matt Osman (Serge) and Jonathan Rhodes (Marc) successfully portraying the pomposity, pride and pettiness of their characters. Francis Parham is excellent as the perpetually, harassed peacemaker Yvan, especially towards the end of the play he bursts out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the painting and of the whole argument.

Despite being witty and clever, at times the ongoing dialogue on art and modernity does seem a little grandiose and elitist in itself. The competitiveness between Serge and Marc is a bit reminiscent of public school boys in a dorm jostling for superiority. The actors are clearly very young and this means the play loses some of its original impact since one must suspend disbelief and imagine the characters are much older and more jaded than they seem.

But the evening has many moments of laugh-out-loud comedy, and the bitching about and between friends is recognisably realistic.

The production is directed by Guy Lewis and will run until Saturday.