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Reviews Walden Theatre's Alumni Company presents By Harold Pinter Directed by Sharon Kinnison Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents are copyright © 2009, Keith Waits. All rights reserved. Students at Walden Theatre are in the happy position of having the opportunity to be cast in substantial material at a young age. It is not unusual to have played several important roles before graduating and moving on to college. But once installed at an institution of higher learning, it is not uncommon to spend one's freshman year, or longer, on the sidelines. For actors accustomed to working onstage, it can prove to be a frustrating experience that might result in a renewed hunger to sink your teeth once again into a good play. I do not know if this is true for the four Walden alumni who are currently mounting a brief summer season of three worthwhile plays, but there is certainly a healthy appetite on display in the production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal that opened last night. They handle the complex and challenging material with the confidence of youth but also the spark of discovery that one hopes to find in any performance. The play, which we now know was inspired by Pinter's own experiences, is one of the playwright's later and more celebrated works and is notable for the unusual reverse chronological sequence of the scenes. The apparent novelty in this device is virtually eliminated because Mr. Pinter is in such full command of his skills as a writer that it feels natural. The plot explores the relationships between three friends, Robert, his wife Emma, and Robert's closest friend Jerry, with whom Emma has been having an affair. As the play opens, in 1977, we meet Jerry and Emma roughly two years after the end of the affair. Carefully, and with great economy, the play traces how these three people erode the trust and loyalty that once was their bond. The juxtaposition of events and deepening understanding of the character's motivations make the narrative flow as easily as any more conventional script and we are given the opportunity to unravel the mysteries of fidelity and betrayal by burrowing through the history to its root, instead of watching it unfold through the progression of time. Director Sharon Kinnison is in firm control of the staging, and has shepherded her cast well. As Jerry, Adam Brown was supple and detailed, effortlessly filling in the spaces around the dialogue with depth and humanity. There is real pleasure to be found in the unspoken nuances he emits whenever he is saying nothing. Laura Durham's Emma was a vital physical presence onstage, carnal enough to motivate a man to betray his best friend, but also vividly rendering the inner conflict of her character. And Ben Park found just the right expressions of pain, bitterness and retribution that would seem to be required of Robert. His stillness and low-key reactions as he stumbles upon the truth of things speak volumes. The fourth member of this ensemble, Elliot Cornett, after his scene stealing turn in the group's previous production of Art, here does yeoman duty in a brief turn as an Italian waiter. The minimalist staging, which includes dressing the cast in austere black and white, proves effective in underscoring the lean and terse material. The surprisingly brief run time, just under ninety minutes with no intermission, belies the gravity and impact of seeing a masterpiece from one of the great playwrights of the modern age, but illustrates the good taste and intelligence of both the play and this impressive production.
Betrayal Remaining performances Fri. July 24 and Sat. July 25 at 9:30pm Starring: Adam Brown, Elliot Cornett, Laura Durham
Posted July 24, 2009
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