An exercise in the thrills and risks of a love affair and the brutality of discovery. In apparently throw-away conversations, the web of deceit is stretched to breaking point.
Travelling backwards in time, we confront along with Jerry, Emma and Robert, the tensions of near discovery, the deception of memory and the pains of perceived betrayal.
This amateur production is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.
CAST
Emma
Jemma Froggitt
Robert
Graeme Jennings
Jerry
Oliver Lovley
Barman / Waiter
Timothy Pollard
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"Betrayal" by Harold Pinter
Nottingham Lace Market Theatre
Inspired by Pinter's extramarital affair with Joan Bakewell, the plot relates to a seven-year affair involving a married couple, Emma and Robert, and Robert's "close friend" Jerry, who is also married, to a woman named Judith. For five years Jerry and Emma carry on their affair without Robert's knowledge until Emma's confession to Robert, without letting on to Jerry that she has done so.
The play is performed in reverse order where we start the play with a meeting up of Emma and Jerry a couple of years after the affair ended in 1977, and works backwards to the start of the affair in 1968.
There's the trademark simplicity of language as well as the pauses and silences for which Pinter was knows for, creating an awkwardness, which should be there, as per the writing style of the author.
The four actors, Jemma Froggitt (Emma), Graeme Jennings (Robert), Oliver Lovley (Jerry) and Timothy Pollard (Barman/Waiter) were all excellent in their roles, and I love Timothy's Italian accent. They all made me believe in the characters and the betrayal act they were portraying, I was totally hooked.
The set, designed by Emma Pegg, was something else as well. Simple in it's visual aspect but, similar to the set of The Curious Incident Of the Dog In The Night Time, the set had hidden depths and this is what it made it so interesting. Parts of the set pulled out from itself and there were interchangeable sections as well, making it visually very interesting.
A clever reverse timeline function by way of projection showing where we were in the scenes and the dates and settings, courtesy of Matthew Allcock.
This is one of the shortest plays I've been to, lasting only eighty minutes, and I had to check that with my watch because it flew by, always a good sign. But there was just one thing that I found niggled me a bit.
Pinter was a writer of realism and was heralded as one of the first kitchen-sink drama style writers and therefore realism is to the forefront of his plays. One thing I found to be in complete opposition to the realism of the play was something very simple that could be resolved.
There were several scenes where there were drinks involved, as well as a meal eaten in a restaurant. Bottles of wine were supposedly drunk but while there were bottles and glasses and plates served, there was no actual liquid or food on the plates. I know that this sounds a bit petty but surely if you're seen to be drinking wine, vodka or whatever the choice of drink, couldn't we see the "drink" being physically poured in to the glass from the bottle and then drank? Also the meal served in the restaurant were empty plates and the actors had to pretend to eat "invisible" food from the plates. It would make the scenes more believable in my opinion. Hey, I'm only the reviewer, not the director, but I appreciate the little touches within plays.
Apart from this very small criticism, i really enjoyed the play and the story of deception, as well as discovering that there were more than one case of betrayal going off here.
Read the original article here.
Betrayal
Lace Market Theatre's staging of Pinter's play gets right to the heart of betrayal and regret. Louis Greatorex reviews.
Inspired by his own affair with BBC Presenter Joan Bakewell, Pinter’s Betrayal thrusts us into a tiptoed tournament of domestic games, lies, and deceit. Through an affair that spans years, we glimpse the lives of Emma (Jemma Froggitt), her husband Robert (Graeme Jennings), and her secret lover Jerry (Oliver Lovley) – who also happens to be Robert’s best friend and work partner – as they humourously struggle with dubious morals.
The most engaging aspect of this play is the reverse chronology. We begin with the aftermath of Emma and Jerry’s affair, a whole two years after its end, as the two reminisce over a desperate drink - Emma’s marriage now hanging by a thread due to the ironic discovery of her husband’s various infidelities over the years. A psychological confrontation then occurs between the men; a well-executed scene that fizzes with long-subdued emotions, pumped with snide references to events we are yet to witness. Then, over the course of the play, we slide back through a decade, visiting different stages of betrayal as each character’s outward motives and self-deceptions are unveiled. The great thing is, in Nottingham’s intimate Lace Market Theatre, there’s nowhere to hide from Pinter’s masterfully placed awkward silences and dramatic ironies that are abundantly thrown our way.
There’s much to be said for Emma Pegg’s set, which demonstrates a stylish versatility. In each not-so-dark blackout, it takes only a few moments for drawers to become beds, walls to become paintings, and chairs to stay as chairs. Grungy walls and peeling wallpaper serve as a constant reminder of the deteriorating state of all three relationships – the marriage, the affair, and the friendship between the men. We are even helped with the narrative by a somewhat Brechtian projection of scene numbers, locations and dates, which, whilst probably necessary, tugs at the naturalism of the piece a little too much. It reminds us that we are in fact only watching a portrayal of a betrayal, rather than witnessing real people in genuine situations – a goal which drove much of Pinter’s writing.
This a performance piece, narratively driven by Pinter’s shrewd dialogue (and often lack of it), yet Cynthia Marsh’s direction is always clear and focused. The performances themselves, whilst strong, differ in execution. Jemma Froggitt is subtle in her portrayal of Emma, as the adulterous wife appears riddled with doubts and insecurities. Emma’s ambiguous expressions and inability to hold eye-contact for long are intriguing, as I found myself eager to know what was going on inside her head – a credit to Froggitt’s performance.
The men are more demonstrative in style, as their thoughts are clearer and their emotions more blatant, yet their performances adjust effectively throughout the piece, according to the timeframe. In particular, Oliver Lovley poignantly demonstrates the effects of a long-term affair; in the later scenes, Jerry appears excited and thrilled by a clandestine relationship, as opposed to the earlier scenes in which he expresses a nervous vulnerability, seemingly worn down by its limitations. It’s impressive to see a character’s psychological arc still being obeyed, despite progressing in reverse.
Ultimately, individual performances weave together to capture the underlying paranoia that haunts forbidden relationships, and we are left to question adultery’s moral implications. The Lace Market Theatre does justice to a play that will probably give 1 in 3 married couples an awkward journey home.
Read the original article here.
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