It’s quite extraordinary to look at the roll call of actors who have performed in Yazmina Reza’s play ART over the years. Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney and Ken Stott starred in the 1996 London premiere. Alan Alda, Victor Garber and Alfred Molina took on the roles in the 1998 Broadway premiere, while Bobby Cannavale, James Corden and Neil Patrick Harris appeared in the recent Broadway revival. There have been plenty of others besides, including Brian Cox, Rufus Sewell and Edward Woodward.

In Australia, Tom Conti, Geoff Morrell and David Wenham featured in the first Australian production in 1999. Now, Richard Roxburgh, Damon Herriman and Toby Schmitz star in a new Australian production, directed by Lee Lewis.

“I have to say, it stands out as one of the greatest plays written for men and that’s evidenced by the great actors who just are beating down the doors to play the roles. And that’s around the world, across so many different languages,” says Lewis.

“It’s like [Reza] put lightning in a bottle when she wrote this. There’s something inside this play that connects with men and I just go, ‘That’s awesome.’”

The French-language play premiered in Paris...