Playwright: Harold Pinter. At: Raven Theatre 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets: 773-338-2177 or RavenTheatre.com: $21-$46. Runs through: Dec. 17
Set in London and Venice, this production is the perfect amalgamation of a classic script, a talented cast and a skilled, creative director and technical team. Raven has presented to audiences a production of style, taste and drama in this 75-minute one-act. It's everything that this play should be, presented in an intimate setting that brings this autobiographical story up close and personal. And—directed by the multitalented Lauren Shouse, currently the literary manager at Northlight Theatre—this production is unique in that it's told from a woman's point of view.
Harold Pinter, the Nobel Prize-winning British playwright, had a career that spanned decades. He's known for his Comedies of Menace, such as The Birthday Party and The Room, currently playing at Chicago's Red Orchid Theatre, as well as his pensive Memory plays, like Old Times and this personal play about an extramarital affair. In addition to being considered the playwright's most dramatic work, Betrayal is unique and innovative in that it plays out in reverse chronological order.
Beginning in 1977, this story opens at the end of the affair, with the final scene taking place in 1968, as the affair begins. Emma and Robert are married, with children, as is their close friend ( and Robert's coworker ) Jerry, who's married to the unseen, but much-discussed Judith. For five years Emma and Jerry carry on their love affair in a rented London flat, without her husband's knowledge, and betraying both Robert and Judith. At least, that's what Jerry is led to believe. In truth, Emma has betrayed Jerry as well, because she's confessed their illicit liaison to Robert. She's also had a fling with another mutual friend and has become pregnant with another child, fathered by her husband. This story thus becomes a tangled web of deception, unfaithfulness and revelation. And because we learn early on that the affair has ended, Pinter's most accessible play is a fascinating story that speaks loudly to every generation and to all genders.
Lauren Shouse's sharp, slick direction seduces audiences with a female sensuality, so different from the usual male-directed productions. She strips away the artifice and romance of what it means to engage in an affair, with a feminine perspective. Scene changes are performed with a simple, deliberate, almost choreographed precision, blending beautifully with the scripted moments. Lauren Nigri's clean, sparse alley-style set design works in tandem with Shouse's vision. The cast is impeccable. Abigail Boucher, a dead-ringer for a young Cate Blanchett, is responsible for turning Pinter's tale of deception into a woman's story. Keith Neagle, as Robert, and Sam Guinan-Nyhart, as Jerry ( and as excellent as can be imagined ), become Emma's pawns in this story of love and lies.
