Catherine Bardrick reviews a high class performance of 'Betrayal' at Hampton Hill Theatre. The Teddington Theatre Company executed Pinter's tale of infidelity and deception with slick professionalism earning itself 4.5 STARS
Inspired by his own extra-marital affair with Joan Bakewell in the sixties, Pinter’s “Betrayal” plumbs the depths of infidelity and deception amongst the middle classes of the London literati by tracing the relationship between Emma and Jerry over the course of nine years from 1968 – 1977. Both are married with children, and to complicate matters further Jerry is also Emma’s husband’s best friend. The play forensically examines many different permutations of betrayal which extend far beyond the classic love triangle, and these layers of duplicity are brilliantly executed through the deployment of reverse chronology.
Such an innovative structuring of the drama allows for a profound meditation on the nature of time, memory, and the pervasiveness of the past as we witness the journey of the relationship in reverse from the dying embers to the initial spark as we are drawn back through time. Thus the first scene takes place two years after the affair has ended in 1977 and the final ninth scene ends just when the affair begins at a party in 1968.
Along the way lies are exposed and acts of betrayal committed between friends, lovers, husbands and wives with the audience having to really focus on exactly who knew what when. Betrayal of ourselves and ultimately by Time itself complete the circle as observed by critic Roger Ebert “The Betrayal structure strips away all artifice. It shows, heartlessly, that the very capacity of love itself is sometimes based on betraying not only other loved ones, but even ourselves”.
The characters are all self-absorbed egotists who not only betray each other, but also the promise and possibility of the people they might have been. The emotional depth and subtlety of what is essentially a classic 'three-hander' are drawn out by three strong performances by Siobhan McCoulough as Emma, Steve Webb as Jerry and Guy Holloway as husband Robert.
McCoulough delivers a finely nuanced and natural performance as Emma using understatement to effectively enhance the trajectory of her emotions. Webb is assured and confident as literary agent Jerry, anxious to keep the affair clandestine and outraged when he realises Robert has known for four years and kept quiet about it. Holloway effectively conveys the repressed and uptight personality of cuckolded Robert but also implies the menace of control that knowledge of the affair allows him. The cameo role of the waiter, humorously played by John Bellamy, adds a delightful lightness of touch and comic edge to a very tense restaurant scene between Jerry and Robert.
Credit should also be given to director John Buckingham and the innovative creative design team led by Mike Elgey, Charles Halford, Phoebe Ross and Michael Bishop. Between each scene evocative video projections were screened over the set to convey the passage of time and the significance of the past. Haunting images of the young smiling Charlotte (Emma’s daughter), the turning of pages of poetry books, the cityscapes of Venice, and the falling of Autumn leaves all contributed to pinpointing these particular fleeting and ephemeral moments. Such poignancy was further enhanced by the use of original music composed especially for the production by James Bedbrook who based his variations for string quartet on a song “A Chloris” by the Belle-Epoque composer Reynaldo Hahn.
All in all the Teddington Theatre Club have ensured that this is both a thought-provoking and entertaining evening at the theatre that's well worth a visit.
Betrayal is showing until September 17 for more information and to book visit teddingtontheatreclub.org.uk
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