THE Gate Theatre is to play host to an artistic debate which has nothing to do with theatre, when Yasmina Reza's Art opens on May 13th. The play. which in Christopher Hampton's translation triumphed at the West End last year, centres on an argument between three men when one of them spends a fortune on what looks like a blank canvas.

Robin Letevre will direct, and the cast will be made up of Alan Stanford, Stephen Brennan and Mark Lambert. Robert Ballagh will design, surely a challenging and contentious commission for any visual artist.