The Independent from London, Greater London, England • 148

THE EYE A Time To Kill Tin Cup Two Days In The Valley The Wind In The Willows SWANSEA ODEON (01792-652 351) Chain Reaction Dragonheart The Indian In The Cupboard Jack Jaws The Nutty Professor TALIESIN ARTS CENTRE (01792- 296883) Beautiful Thing Secrets And Lies UCI 10 (01792-645 005) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Alaska Chain Reaction Courage Under Fire Dragonheart Emma Fargo Flipper A Goofy Movie Hunchback Of Notre Dame Independence Day Jack James And The Giant Peach Jude The Nutty Professor A Time To Kill Tin Cup Two Days In The Valley The Wind In The Willows TAUNTON ODEON (01823-444005) The Addams Family Alaska Chain Reaction Courage Under Fire Dragonheart Dunston Checks In Emma A Goofy Movie Independence Day Jack James And The Giant Peach Jumanji The Nutty Professor A Time To Kill Toy Story Natural Born Killers The Nutty Professor 20 The Wind In The Willows THURROCK WARNER (01708-890600) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Alaska Chain Reaction Courage Under Fire Dragonheart A Goofy Movie Independence Day Jack James And The Giant Peach Last Dance Last Man Standing The Nutty Professor The Secret Agent Club Striptease Tin Cup The Wind In The Willows UCI 10 (01708-869 920) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Alaska Chain Reaction Courage Under Fire Dragonheart Emma Flipper A Goofy Movie Grease Hunchback Of Notre Dame Independence Day Jack James And The Giant Peach Last Man Standing The Last Supper Monkey Trouble The Rock Striptease A Time To Kill Tin Cup Twelfth Night Two Days In The Valley The Wind In The Willows TORQUAY ODEON (01803-292324) Chain Reaction Bram Stoker's Dracula Emma Jack The Wind In The Willows TUNBRIDGE WELLS ABC CINEMA (01892-523135) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Emma Jack James And The Giant Peach The Nutty Professor Tin Cup WATFORD WARNER (01923-682 244) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Alaska Beethoven Chain Reaction Courage Under Fire Dragonheart Emma A Goofy Movie Hunchback Of Notre Dame Jack James And The Giant Peach The Nutty Professor A Time To Kill Tin Cup Twelfth Night Up Close Personal The Wind In The Willows WELLS FILMCENTRE (01749-672036) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Dragonheart Emma The Nutty Professor The Wind In The Willows WELWYN GARDEN CITY CAMPUS WEST (0800-600 900) Rainbow Stealing Beauty The Tit And The Moon WESTON-SUPER. MARE ODEON (01934-950499) Alaska Chain Reaction Dragonheart Flipper Independence Day Jack Jude The Little Rascals The Nutty Professor Restoration Toy Story The Wind In The Willows WOKING RHODA MCGAW THEATRE (01483-769765) The Adventures Of Pinocchio A Time To Kill PEACOCK CENTRE (01483-761144) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Chain Reaction Dragonheart A Goofy Movie James And The Giant Peach The Nutty Professor Twelfth Night The Wind In The Willows YEOVIL ABC CINEMA (01935-413333) The Adventures Of Pinocchio Dragonheart Sense And Sensibility Tin Cup THE INDEPENDENT 26 THEATRE With David Art by Yasmina Reza, directed by Matthew Warchus. Wyndham's Theatre. London WC2 (0171-369 1736) 'm worried. Art has been hailed in most quarters as the perfect West End play.

Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay are perfectly contrasted as friends whose relationship is rent asunder when Courtenay spends £25.000 on a seemingly dead white canvas: and Ken Stott is now a dead cert for Best Actor with his third cracking performance this year. The production certainly merits praise. Director Matthew Warchus's attention to detail pays off throughout. Everything, from Gary Yershon's chilly, ringing vibraphone score, to Mark Thompson's design, is pefectly attuned to Christopher Hampton's first-rate translation: cool, elegant and deliciously witty. But without wishing to be curmudgeonly, I worry that the play isn't quite up to all this.

For all its modernist intercutting of address with sharply characterised scenes. about art and the demand for friendship, I suspect its appeal for mostly middleaged. married male critics is, strangely enough, one of nostalgia. It reminds them all of the days when the West End was supposedly packed with such intelligent entertainment. Not everyone has hollered its praises in so unequivocal WEST END The Alchemist Simon Callow in Bill Alexander's production of the bawdy Ben Jonson comedy about confidence tricksters.

National Theatre: Olivier South Bank SE1 (0171-928 2252) Waterloo In rep. 30 31 Oct. 7.15pm, mat 31 Oct. 2pm, ends 26 Nov. day seats from 10am.

195 mins. Art Courtenay and Finney in Yasmina Reza's drama about art and friendship. Wyndham's Theatre Charing Cross Road WC2 (0171-369 867 1111) Leicester Square. Tue-Sat 8pm. mats Wed 3pm, Sat Sun 5pm.

70 mins. Ashes To Ashes Harold Pinter's drama stars Lindsay Duncan and Stephen Rea. OCT 1 NOV 1996 SOUTH Benedict a fashion. The Guardian asserted that Reza's anti-art arguments pandered to popular prejudice. "The real test is whether the play encourages audiences to embrace modern art or reject lit." Perhaps Michael Billington was unnerved, as I was, by the braying first night crowd.

Finney's implacable response to the canvas shit" was met with delight by an audience giving vent to their closet philistinism. The play's discussions are funny and fascinating but there were times when I began to sense what it was like being lat Nuremburg, as Courtenay's attempts to justify "art" were met with belly laughs. Even if Reza were attacking modern art (she is not) that has nothing to do with whether it's a good play or not. She's a dramatist, not modernism's defence lawyer. Whatever happened to objective criticism? Silly Yasmina Reza.

She pandered to the audience's prejudices. Obviously she should have pandered to the critics. EYE ON THE NEW A double whammy: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? transfers into the West End, and The Day Seascape, which won Albee the second of his three Pulitzer Prizes, receives its belated British premiere. Theatre, London WC2 (0171-416 6003); Citizens Theatre, Glasgow (0141-429 0022). Royal Court Theatre Upstairs (at The Ambassadors) West Street WC2 (0171-565 730 2554) Leicester Sq.

Ends 26 Oct, 4pm 8pm, £10, concs mats £5. 60 mins. As You Like It Niamh Cusack makes a return to the RSC in Steven Pimlott's production. Barbican Theatre EC2 (0171-638 8891) In rep, 26 Oct, 2pm 7.15pm, ends 29 Mar, 195 mins Blinded By The Sun Stephen Poliakoff's scientific detective story stars Frances de la Tour. National Theatre: Cottesloe South Bank SE1 (0171-928 2252) Waterloo.

In rep, 28-31 Oct, 7.30pm, mat 31 Oct, 2.30pm, £16. restricted view £12. 150 mins..