"Three people are in a
room, one a former friend visiting a married couple in a country
house by the sea. There’s an ever-shifting balance of subtle
domination with a hint of menace. It’s Pinter territory, so
take what you wish from this intriguing staging by Michael Cabot
in its elegant setting designed by Geraldine Bunzl.
The conversational sparring,
feinting and countering is nicely paced and rhythmic, civilised and
well-mannered, stillness skillfully masking tensions of sexual
chemistry. Julie Hale captures most tellingly the sensuality of the
enigmatic Anna, well matched by Richard Stemp as filmmaker Deeley,
increasingly desperate to establish himself as part of the two
women’s lives together 20 years before. Their verbal fencing about
the bath routines of Kate, a fascinatingly off-the-wall portrayal by
Jackie Drew, proves a real highlight, as amusing as it is sensual."
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ARTHUR
DUNCAN - SOMERSET COUNTY GAZETTE: |
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"The
audience gathering for London Classic Theatre’s production of Old
Times by Harold Pinter, finds on stage the striking, domestic
interior set designed by Geraldine Bunzl, lit with appropriate
economy by Guy Hoare. A monochromatic, once splendid room, starkly
furnished; drinks set on a table by a window, beyond which is
blackness. ‘Outdoor scenery’ is dispensed with, as is every domestic
item not essential to Pinter’s text. The sparse set provokes
questions, stimulating the waiting audience to weigh its mystery,
and anticipate revelation. The scene thoroughly establishes the
credentials of director Michael Cabot and his design team. And the
cast quickly establish theirs, too.
Jackie Drew is hypnotically
laconic as Kate, whose early-life potential has evaporated in
Marriage. Her husband, domineering, self-deluding and emotionally
vulnerable, is portrayed with meticulous power by Richard Stemp.
Where does he fit into the trio, with their visitor of two decades
absence? Kate’s old chum, the disturbing and alluring Anna, is
played with exquisite control by Julie Hale. The three comprise a
highly competent cast of typical Pinter characters, not very
likeable but engaging us through both the comedy and tragedy of
flawed relationships.
Old Times consists of
disordered memories riddled with distorted facts and cruel home
truths, laced with fantasies. Prior to the interval, action and
words seem perhaps too mannered, performed with unnatural
deliberation, but thereby Cabot & Pinter demand our attention,
denying us the comforts of ‘mere entertainment’. Act Two rewards our
stoicism with some fast-paced humour and an intense conclusion.
The Brewhouse audience was
spellbound, even during those notorious ‘Pinter pauses’, by the
intensity of the actors’ performance, and perhaps by increasing
awareness of the author’s stature among modern dramatists.
Thoughtfully choreographed by Cabot - not merely directed - every
move his actors make, complements Pinter’s poetic and at times, very
humorous text."
