THEATER
Betrayed, Bothered, and Bewildered
Revival, new play both examine infi delity’s consequences
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE
Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,”
now in a spare and
thought-provoking revival
on Broadway, is
not about mere adultery. If it were,
it would be just another play about
selfi sh, venal people seeking extramarital
sex for thrill, variety,
ego-boosting, or whatever reason.
And, indeed, selfi sh and venal certainly
describe the three characters:
Jerry, the literary agent who
has been carrying on a seven-year
affair with Emma, who runs an art
gallery and is married to Robert, a
publisher and Jerry’s best friend.
But what makes the play interesting
and highly relevant today
is that despite the sex, marriage,
friendship, and the seeming connections
among these three in this
dark triangle, they are each alone.
Yes, they interact, but their behavior
is never free of the constraints
defi ned by their relationships with
the other two. They are haunted by
social structures, rules, and stress.
The betrayal in the play is not only
what the characters do to one another
but in a larger, meta sense
the way in which the accepted
norms of marriage and friendship
— designed to curtail human urges
like lust and competition — run
afoul of our natures and are inherently
unworkable. That confl ict, in
Pinter’s construct, is irresolvable,
and what should lead to pleasure
and gratifi cation instead leads to
unhappiness and isolation.
In previous productions of this
play — including the most recent
Broadway outing in 2013 starring
Daniel Craig — it has seemed more
soap opera than existential meditation.
Director Jamie Lloyd, abetted
wonderfully by designer Soutra
Gilmour, has placed the action in
a featureless, but elegant void. It is
almost completely monochromatic,
a wall spans the width of the stage,
and props are just chairs and a
folding table. Turntables move
characters in and out of focus, and
all three characters are onstage
nearly the entire time. The effect is
expressionistic, conveying the level
Charlie Cox in Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” directed by Jamie Lloyd, at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre
through December 8.
Ellen Parker and Jill Eikenberry in Michael Tucker’s “Fern Hill,” directed by Nadia Tass, at 59E59 through
October 20.
of emotional tension that thrums
beneath the surface.
The story of Emma and Jerry’s
affair is told in reverse, beginning
in 1977, two years after their affair
has ended. They have returned
to chilly, formulaic interactions of
asking about one another’s families.
It’s clear that neither of them
got what they wanted. In a series
of scenes stretching back to 1968,
we see the highpoint as well as the
dissolution of the affair. What becomes
intriguing is how each of
the characters is trapped and betrayed
by conditioning that makes
fulfi llment elusive, if not impossible.
That’s the gnawing tragedy
MARC BRENNER
CAROL ROSEGG
of this piece.
Under Lloyd’s direction, the cast
is outstanding. True to Pinter, the
play often happens between the
words, and that requires a level of
focus and intention unique to this
genre that each actor masters to
harrowing affect. Tom Hiddleston
as Robert is the model of British
propriety and reserve, until he
isn’t. Zawe Ashton is excellent as
Emma, restless and lost throughout.
Charlie Cox as Jerry plays him
as the least troubled of the three
with abundant charm. It’s easy
to see why Emma would yield to
a kiss at a party, when Jerry is
drunk, not fully knowing the damage
that would ensue.
This being a smart play about
smart people, there’s some literate
dialogue as well. In Yeats’ poem
“Under Ben Bulben” about the futility
and frustrations of life and
art in the face of his own inevitable
mortality, he writes, “Cast a cold
eye/ On life, on death.” It’s a trenchantly
chilly observation that’s
very appropriate to this cool production.
Infi delity also sets the story
going in “Fern Hill,” Michael
Tucker’s bittersweet comedy at
59E59, though it is much more
outspoken and obvious than anything
Pinter every wrote. Three
couples have gathered at the farm
of Sunny and Jer. They are devoted
friends in their 60s and 70s, considering
turning the farm into a
commune where they can all live
together and care for one another
as they age.
There is real affection and a
bond among them all, evidently
developed over many years. Billy,
an aging rocker, and Michiko, a
teacher, are ready to give up the
road. Vincent, a painter, and his
wife Darla are ready to trade their
New York loft for a studio in the
barn. It all seems rollicking, ideal,
and congenial until it’s revealed
that Jer — who is against the plan
and never thought the talk was serious
— has been sleeping with a
colleague.
What follows is a very adult examination
of intimacy, sex, longterm
relationships, and the prospect
of aging. Tucker writes with
warmth and insight. Where classic
TV shows like “The Golden Girls”
mined aging for broad comedy and
caricature, Tucker is sensitive and
frank, taking his characters into
uncharted territory for them — including
topics they thought taboo
such as bold descriptions of sex.
How do sex and intimacy change
as we age, he asks, both in social
contexts and in our own perceptions
of ourselves?
➤ FERN HILL, continued on p.33
September 26 - October 9 32 , 2019 | GayCityNews.com
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