IT'S only to be expected that a cast will praise the production they're plugging to the hilt.

But there was at times, something almost evangelical about the way Nigel Havers, Roger Lloyd Pack and Barry Foster carried on about Art at a press launch earlier this year.

The critically acclaimed and commercially successful West End comedy about artistic taste and more fundamentally, friendship, is still going strong after nearly four years.

The purchase of an extremely expensive piece of modern art by one man and its effects on his friendship with two others hardly sounds a cast-iron recipe for success.

But Barry Foster, who plays modern art sceptic Marc, did a pretty good job of selling the play: "When this tour came up I pounced on it. It's a wonderful thing to do.

"It's about three men, the break up of a friendship and how it's repaired, and it's done in very comedic terms. It's full of laughs and very shocking emotional surprises," said Barry, who will be able to work from home when Art hits Guildford. The actor, who starred as Dutch detective Van der Valk in the long-running TV series, lives in Blackdown Forest near Haslemere. He has been in the business for about 45 years.

"I started acting in Ireland in a touring company doing Shakespeare, Wilde and stuff like that. I ended up doing 13 plays in one repertoire, seven nights a week. You certainly learn how to do it.

"In about two or three years I started my television career in one-off plays. It was very different from today. There were just two channels and you had maybe two 90-minute one-off plays a week."

Nigel Havers, who plays the buyer of the overpriced piece of off-white canvas, likes the play so much he is making his second appearance, on tour, having starred in the West End production.

"I loved doing it so much that I felt I hadn't finished it - I've never done that before. It's very nice re-visiting something you love.

"Also, I know it sounds so pompous, but you owe it to your audience - I don't owe anything to anyone - but I think it's nice for the audiences around the country to see people on TV."

The play, written by French author Yasmina Reza, premiered in Paris in 1995 and has since gone onto great success in New York, Germany and Scandinavia - as well as the West End.

Four years in London have seen many cast changes. The West End version, co-produced by Sean Connery and David Pugh, opened with the impressive trio of Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott.

A hard act to follow, but not one that daunts Roger Lloyd Pack, who plays Yvan - a sort of neutral role between Serge's modern art fervour and Marc's outright cynicism.

"I didn't think of it like that because a lot of the actors who have done it are my mates. In the case of Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay, if I had been the next one after them, I might have thought 'Ooh!' but I'm not intimidated."

Roger, of course, is probably best known for playing lovable loser Trigger in Only Fools and Horses, something he is unprecious and philosophical about.

"Trigger will never be laid to rest because they're always repeating it (Only Fools and Horses) and they might do another one later this year. Even if they don't, I don't think I'll ever lay it to rest. I think Trigger's a great character and Only Fools and Horses a great programme."

Quizzed about his taste in art, Roger professes a liking for representational works - landscapes, still life etc.

Roger says he was drawn to acting by his thespian father, Charles, but despite his daughter Emily Lloyd's success, would not actively encourage the pursuit of an acting career.

"To start with, I said get your O Levels and everything but she was very persistent and in the end you can only offer so much resistance."

Perhaps surprisingly, given his untheatrical background, Nigel Havers' father (former Lord Chancellor and Attorney General) Lord Havers gave his son "total" encouragement.

Since then, Havers has become almost synonymous with playing the quintessential English Gent - an image he is resigned to but feels his role in Art would shatter.

"I don't think it's something I can change now. If I did this part on television, it would blow the TV apart. That's why I enjoy it so much, because you can really let go.

Havers, dapper in a grey suit and tie, seemed as hyper as he did haughty as he puffed on a Marlborough Light.

And what about the piece of minimalist art his character, Serge, outlays a fortune for? Is it something Nigel Havers would gladly hang in his lounge.

"I love the picture. It's exactly the sort of picture I'd go out and by myself. My house is very neat, monastic."

And you can see the painting in all its glory at the Yvonne Arnaud until tomorrow (Saturday).

James Bowman.

The Herald arts pages are where you'll find the best reviews of a wide range of theatre and music each week.