Pinter’s “Betrayal” tells the story of a love affair in
reverse order beginning with the ex-lovers meeting some time after the affair
has ended. London Classic Theatre’s production reflects Pinter’s sparse use of
language and the tragic outcome of the play in the set, which is an abstract
impression of a house in ruin and decay. Despite the openness of the design the
many nooks and crannies helped to create an intimate feel to the character’s
interactions.
In true Pinter style the dialogue gives little away and all
the characterisation must come from the actor’s physicality. Each small change
in facial expression and the slightest muscle tensing is a clue for the
audience as they piece together who the characters are. This actually empowers
the director and actors to interpret the characters in their own unique way. In
this production the initial easy confidence of Emma (compellingly played by
Rebecca Pownell) is gradually diminished as the play progresses further into the
past whilst her lover Jerry (Steven Clarke) seems to be always grasping for
control of each situation but falling short. The cuckolded husband (Pete
Collis) is played with an undercurrent of menace which averts any feelings of
sympathy for him until the last scene (which is chronologically the start of
the story).
I confess that I was worried when, after four scenes, the
interval began. Though the first act had been well performed, I wasn’t yet fully
invested in the characters and their story. I felt an interruption was a
risk. However, the first and third scenes after the interval were, in my
opinion, the strongest and so compelling that you could almost forget there had
been a break at all. The way the final scene (the start of the affair) was
performed threw so many of the assumptions I had made as the story unravelled
on their head, that I rather wished I could watch the play again. Only this time in
reverse order!
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