Running time: 90 mins (no interval).
Cast: Tom Hiddleston (Robert), Charlie Cox (Jerry) and Zawe Ashton (Emma).
Director: Jamie Lloyd.
At the Harold Pinter Theatre until June 8, 2019.
When I first walked into the play, I had nothing but a vague idea what I was in for. I’d read a bit about it, but other than the general theme of betrayal (it’s an extramarital affair, after all) and the fact the story is told backwards, I didn’t really know anything about the play. Usually I don’t feel being unfamiliar with the play’s text is an issue when going to the theatre, but this time it very much affected my ability to enjoy the play.
And not without reason, I suppose; the play’s reverse-chronology makes it somewhat difficult to understand at first. By the time you piece together the story and start feeling like you actually know what’s happening in front of you, the play’s over. Betrayal is commended for that “revolutionary” reverse-chronology, but in my opinion, there’s a reason it hasn’t really been done before: it makes absolutely no sense to do it. Unless, of course, you’re trying to confuse your audience; in which case, go ahead and do it. It’s the perfect way, really.
Once you’re familiar with the text, though – be it through watching it or through reading it – watching the play becomes something else entirely. I still had a certain sense of confusion the second time around – the reverse-chronology concept is a bit like going backwards in a rollercoaster; it makes you dizzy – but it didn’t overshadow the entire performance. Now that I wasn’t busy with trying to figure out what’s happening, I could pay attention to the characters; to the dynamics between them; to the references; and most importantly, to the subtext, which is Pinter’s specialty. The more familiar I was with the text – in the third, fourth, or fifth time I watched it – the more time and resources I had to devote to the things happening onstage.
While I’m not a fan of the text – mainly because of its problematic approach to storytelling – this production is a completely different matter. The minimalistic set is absolutely perfect for this production; it brings out the characters and the underlying emotions even more than a full set would have. Everything about the set and props choice is made to compliment the text, to highlight whatever’s being said or done, rather than to attract attention. Even the fact Charlie Cox and Tom Hiddleston are the ones moving the chairs onstage throughout the play seems right; it’s almost like a game of musical chairs, with the winner getting Emma, of course.
One of the things I really liked about the set is the revolving stage, which is truly utilised beautifully throughout the play. At times, it almost acts like a clock, revolving backwards as we’re told the play is once again going backward in time. At others it brings characters together or draws them apart. It’s almost like a visual representation of Emma and Jerry’s affair and how it affects and is affected by Robert. For instance, in one of the final scenes of the play, Emma asks Jerry if he ever thinks of changing his life (and divorcing Judith, though the thought remains unsaid). At that moment, as Jerry is thinking, the revolving stage brings Robert in front of Jerry, and the two look at each other for a long moment before Jerry says he can’t change his life. You can almost sense Robert hanging around Jerry’s mind in that moment, overshadowing whatever he might be feeling towards Emma. He’s a real part of their relationship, whether they like it or not.
This isn’t the only instance in which we see that, though. Most of the scenes are played out between two of the three characters, and in this production, the third character – be it Robert, Jerry or Emma – is kept onstage even if they’re not in the scene. Each character is given that overshadowing presence, and given how closely the characters are connected, it seems only right. Even after the affair is over – at the very first scene – Robert still has a massive affect on Jerry and Emma’s slightly tense relationship; it feels right to have him onstage, hovering at the edges. It feels natural later on, as the affair progresses, and it feels just as natural to have Jerry hovering at the edges during Robert and Emma’s scenes. The truth is, the relationships in this play are so closely connected that it’s impossible to link just two of the characters rather than all three.
The highlights of this production are, of course, Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Cox. Admittedly, I’m not a Marvel fan, so I hadn’t a clue what I was going into (it was a birthday present for one of my best friends), but I absolutely fell in love watching them acting. Both are phenomenal actors; they bring the characters to life perfectly, with exactly the right level of emotion (or lack thereof, in Robert’s case) and wit. You can feel Jerry’s panicking in the second scene; his love to Emma; how much he cares about Robert. You can feel Robert’s devastation when he finds out about the affair and his anger while talking to Jerry afterwards; you can even feel his hurt when Emma starts kissing him and then rejects him earlier on. Hiddleston and Cox do a brilliant job bringing all these emotions to life, even just with a touch or a glance; you don’t need words to really feel what the characters are feeling. Pinter’s subtext is brought to life beautifully by them both.
There’s something particularly satisfying about watching them together onstage. They play off of each other beautifully; they’re in complete sync and their interactions are a joy to watch. They truly react to each other; when you see the play multiple times – especially over a period of time – you can see the small differences between each performance, and when one of them does something slightly different, the other works off of it, creating something new. Theatre usually changes over time – I suppose you can only do the same thing for so long – but whether the changes are good is completely up to the actors’ interactions with it. In this case, with both Cox and Hiddleston playing along, I thoroughly enjoyed looking for these small differences and feeling that excitement at something new and gripping happening onstage. And the more familiar you are with the play, the more attention you can pay to their connection, which almost give it a different feel every time. The two of them truly make this production.
I have to admit, I found Zawe Ashton’s performance somewhat disappointing, especially when it comes to scenes with Hiddleston or Cox. There’s something a bit over-the-top in it, though I’m not sure whether that’s intentional (showing how deeply involved Emma is, as opposed to Jerry and Robert) or not. Either way, there’s something about it that feels a bit forced and makes it the complete opposite of Hiddleston’s and Cox’s natural performances.
On the whole? Really enjoyed myself, once I actually understood what’s happening onstage. I wouldn’t recommend watching it just once, or if you are watching it just once, doing it without reading the text first. It’s just too confusing, and the confusion really gets in the way of enjoying this wonderful production.
Final Score: 8.5/10
