First produced in London in December 2009, Red, a play by American playwright John Logan, tells the story of real-life, world-famous Jewish-American artist Mark Rothko. He has just enlisted the help of young assistant Ken to help him create the most ambitious, daunting and important commission of his career – to endow the Four Seasons restaurant in New York with an extraordinary piece of work which will later become universally known as the Seagram Murals.

This is a play about how life is a cycle during which we all grow, mature and eventually have to step aside and pass on the baton to the younger generation... no matter how hard or how resistant we are to it

However, over the two years during which they labour over these pieces, Rothko starts becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his growing status and riches and asks himself whether he should settle for conventional art that pays or create art for the soul.

And, while Rothko faces this dilemma, young, aspiring artist Ken grows confident enough to question his master’s theories on art, leading Rothko to wonder whether he has made the right decision in accepting the commission or not.

In Malta, the play is being directed by Simone Spiteri, with Edward Mercieca as Rothko and Jean-Marc Agius Cafà as Ken.

Spiteri describes the rehearsals as great fun and extremely intense at the same time:

“To have to work with and direct two people who are constantly on the go for 90 minutes of non-stop bantering, philophising and painting is no easy task and it has been our collective challenge to find the balance between those moments of pathos, joviality, intensity and run-of-the-mill practices in an artist’s studio.”

Having said that, she says, the process has been really smooth largely due to the fact that all three of them genuinely enjoy each other’s company and get along.

“I think this play appeals to a varied audience for so many reasons... whether they are artists themselves, aficionados or completely unrelated to the artistic world,” says Spiteri.

“People will get to see up close what an artist’s process is like, what it takes to prepare paint, stretch canvases and prime them. But more important I think this is a play about how life is a cycle during which we all grow, mature and eventually have to step aside and pass on the baton to the younger generation... no matter how hard or how resistant we are to it,” she adds.

Mercieca says he fell in love with the script as soon as he read it:

“It’s a fabulous script and it works on two levels: one is getting an inside glimpse at how an artist works and what is going through Rothko’s mind, and the other is a wonderful observation of life itself and how we look at things differently as we grow older.

“The main challenge of playing my character, apart from the lines, is getting into the mind of this genius of an artist. I have enjoyed every single second of the process. We are three totally different people with totally different theatre backgrounds but the synergy has been amazing,” he says.

According to Agius Cafà, people should watch Red because it is a play about people, about humans, about relationships.

“The piece is brimming with emotion and flux. The text is superb. Edward is a gem to work with and such a generous person to share the stage with and Simone’s insight into the play and the characters is incredible,” he adds.

• Red is being staged at St James Cavalier on February 15-17 and 23-25. Tickets may be obtained by phone on 2122 3200 or online: www.sjcav.org.