Harold Pinter - glamgical

A Slight Ache is presented by Dance On Productions in association with Linda Toliver and Gary Guidinger. Written by Harold Pinter. Directed by Jack Heller.

An apparent peaceful morning is disrupted by a wasp and a match seller. Flora (Susan Priver, Harold and Maude) is sitting with her husband Edward (Henry Olek) when a wasp decides to approach their table while they’re breakfasting in the garden. The dynamics of their relationship becomes more evident as they try to figure out how to get rid of the insect. But Edward’s biggest concern is not the wasp. Rather, it’s the disconcerting presence of an old match seller (Shelly Kurtz) who has been loitering by the gate of their home for days. Flora and Edward decide to invite the man into their home to find out who he really is.

One of most iconic elements of this play is the speechless nature of the match seller. He doesn’t utter a single world during the whole play. Yet, like in music, in Harold Pinter‘s plays, silence is as important as dialogue. In this absurdist piece, the match seller reflects not a character, but an image, an inner fear or an aspirational idea of a man, depending on who you ask. For Edward, the match seller is the unstoppable marching of time, the reflection of what Edward will become in just a few more years. Edward knows that his body is deteriorating, turning him into a frail remnant of what he once was. He is holding on for dear life to what he believes will sustain him through the dreadful ageing process, his mental capacities, as if detaching his mind from his decaying body. Edward went from writing about “the Belgian Congo” to a more philosophical and contemplative topic; he’s now writing an essay on “space and time”. This is probably a symbol of inwardness, an unconscious attempt to find the meaning of life at the last stages of his existence.

Flora sees the match seller as the man Edward could have been. In Pinter’s style, the speechless man is used as an instrument to allow the exposition of the other characters. In one of the scenes, Flora tells the match seller of the time she was raped. She also tries to explore the possibilities of the match seller as a companion, expressing her sexual frustrations and implying the lack of sexual activity with Edward. These are examples of Pinter’s use of the absurd to portray not just characters, but concepts that reflected the lives of the English society in a time of rapid changes, specially the representation of classes when England was recuperating from the difficult economic misfortunes of previous decades.

One of the highlights of Jack Heller‘s production is the collaboration with his actors to work from an internal approach, exploring the richly psychological aspects of this brilliant play. The actors dig deep into the fears, desires, and frustrations of the characters to bring a refreshing new look at one of Pinter’s earlier plays, one that delves into the often complex relationships among mind, body, and society at large. Even though Pinter wrote A Slight Ache in 1958 at a specific period in England, the fears of becoming irrelevant and the painful process of aging are topics that are timeless and universal.

In addition to the excellent acting and directing, the scenic design (Jeff G. Rack) and costumes (Michael Mullen) combine in great detail the past and the present. Flora and Edward sport a refined look in their privileged 50s home setting while the match seller wears clothes that remind us of the very familiar sight in our streets nowadays. A clever commentary on classes back in Pinter’s England and a contrast that persists in our America today.

A Slight Ache

A visiting production at the
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90025

Performances: August 26 – October 1
• Thursdays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 14; Sept. 21; Sept. 28
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 8; Sept. 15; Sept. 22; Sept. 29
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 26 (opening); Sept. 9; Sept. 16; Sept. 23; Sept. 30
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: Sept. 10; Sept. 17; Sept. 24; Oct. 1

Tickets: odysseytheatre.com

Written by Harold Pinter. Directed by Jack Heller. Starring Shelly Kurtz, Henry Olek, Susan Priver. Presented by Dance On Productions in association with Linda Toliver and Gary Guidinger. Creative team: Scenic designer Jeff G. Rack, lighting designer Ellen Monocroussos, sound designer Christopher Moscatiello, costume designer Michael Mullen and graphic designer Kiff Scholl. The production stage manager is Sarah Dawn Lowry.

Pacific Resident Theatre presents Edward Albee’s Fam and Yam, directed by Marilyn Fox and Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter, directed by Marilyn Fox and Elina de Santos. Edward Albee was American, Harold Pinter was British. Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005. Edward Albee received Pulitzer and Tony Awards for five of his plays.

Both plays Fam And Yam and The Dumb Waiter were first produced in 1960, a tumultuous time in which the US and England were still processing the consequences of World II, the Korean War, the crushing of the Hungarian revolt, the Cold War, the Suez crisis, and, in the case of England, the decolonization movements in Asia and Africa. The two plays are examples of the movement called theatre of the absurd.

Albee‘s Fam and Yam is a traditional play where famous playwright Fam (Brad Greenquist, Theatre Review: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) is interviewed by Yam (Jason Downs), also a playwright who is not famous. The conversation starts by Yam praising Fam for his apartment, his paintings, and the views from his window. As Fam continues to drink, Yam switches the conversation and starts to lambaste the theatre industry; pretty much no one is spared in his tirade—theatre owners, producers, unions, critics, the pinheads, etc. The play is an early example of Albee’s wit and his aggressive, anti-social stance. For this production, the creative team used high key lighting, appealing and fashionable 60s costumes, and painting on the wall that become alive at the end.

Pinter‘s The Dumb Waiter is a darker play where two hitmen, Ben (Anthony Foux) and Gus (Jason Downs) are waiting in a claustrophobic room for their victim. The absurdity of the story is exemplified by the box of matches thrown under the door and the food orders in the dumb waiter (the elevator which delivers food) that keep coming. As part of the angry young men group, Pinter’s writings contain elements of violence, volatility, and uncertainty. His plays have moments of dialogue but also moments of silence. As in music, silence is as critical as sound to create a masterpiece.

Pinter was an intuitive writer that was a keen observer of human behavior. The Dumb Waiter is a play with implied violence, characters with not much background stories, suffocating environment (Ben and Gus are in a dark, windowless room), and a sense of latent danger. These elements with loose ends draw the audience into the story and allow them to become part of the action by letting them come up with their own conclusions.

This is a great opportunity to see two plays by two of the most influential playwrights of the 20th century. Their writings are witty, insightful, and poetic. Add to this treat the powerful and superb performances of Brad Greenquist, Anthony Foux, and Jason Downs and you have a unique and unforgettable experience not to be missed.

Fam And Yam and The Dumb Waiter

Fam And Yam. Written by Edward Albee and directed by Marilyn Fox. The Dumb Waiter. Written by Harold Pinter and directed by Marilyn Fox and Elina de Santos. Cast: Brad Greenquist, Anthony Foux, and Jason Downs. Creative team: William Wilday (Scenic Design), Matt Richter (Lighting Design), Audrey Eisner (Costume Design), Christopher Moscatiello (Sound Design), Teak Piegdon (Stage Manager), Myrna Gawryn (Set Change Movement), and Michael Rothhaar (Consultant).