Reviewed by James Karas
Harold Pinter’s The
Homecoming was first seen in 1965 and has become an entrenched classic
of the British theatre. It has been revived for its 50th anniversary
by Jamie Lloyd in a production that seeks to distance itself from previous stagings
and yet retain the power and complexity of the play.
The result is largely favourable.
On the surface the play has the simplest
of plots. Teddy and his wife Ruth are visiting his home in north London after
an absence of six years. Teddy’s family consists of his father Max, his
brothers Lenny and Joey as well as his uncle Sam. Teddy is teaching philosophy
in America and the homecoming will reveal a number of plot complexities and
character issues to keep one fascinated for hours.
Max, played with subliminal and
then actual viciousness by Ron Cook, is a retired butcher who molds the past to
suit his present mood. He idolizes his late wife one moment and calls her a
slut the next. His best friend Mac had an affair with her including encounters in
the back seat of Sam’s limo. He seems to have doubts about the paternity of his
children and was almost certainly sexually inadequate. Cook with his face
looking red like a piece of meat gives an outstanding performance.
Lenny (John Slim) dresses in a
three-piece suit and tries to speak in elevated tones. His real character
emerges through the patina of politeness: he is a pimp and a murderer. Joey
(John MacMillan) is a would-be-boxer who has been punched on the head far more
times than his brain can withstand. He attempts to have sex with his brother’s
wife and fails miserably.
The frightful family is rounded
off by Max’s brother Sam (Keith Allen) who is a prissy limo driver and may have
had sex with his sister-in-law. Pinter’s plot is always opaque and no one
should forget that he is treading on quicksand.
Gary Kemp as Teddy looks older
than his brothers and he is just as inept at establishing a relationship with
his wife as the others are in establishing one among themselves.
The central figure of the play is
Ruth (Gemma Chan). She is attractive, distant, fetching, available and
mysterious. She is a woman from the neighborhood who seems to have come from
another world.
Lenny starts dancing with and
kissing her and Joey lies on top of her in front of everyone. Chan maintains
her mystery and manages to establish complete dominance over the men in a
repulsive manner. She becomes a prostitute-goddess as she starts ordering the
men around as if they were her slaves. An astonishing and subtle performance by
Chan.
The stage by designer Soutra
Gilmour has a pitch-black background with a red floor and several pieces of
furniture. The centre piece is Max’s easy chair which in the end is turned into
Ruth’s throne for the vassals to adore and obey her. Very effective.
Sound Designer George Dennis has
inserted loud and extremely annoying rock music at the beginning and several
other spots in the production. No doubt he had his reasons for doing so and
annoying the audience was not one of them. He should have controlled the
impulse.
The Homecoming deserves
close attention to every line of dialogue, every pause and every gesture. It is
an inexhaustible play. This production pays attention to and captures many of
its subtleties.
__________
The Homecoming
by Harold Pinter continues until February 13, 2016 at the Trafalgar Studios,
14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY http://www.trafalgar-studios.co.uk/
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