New Theatre, Cardiff
Mon 29th August- Sat 3rd September 2016
Greeted by a sign on the New Theatre saying “Sold Out: Returns Only”, you get the idea of just how popular this production of Harold Pinter’s play is. The casting of Ian McKellan (Spooner) opposite Patrick Stewart (Hirst) was always going to be something of a treat and the pair did not disappoint.
Though Act One seemed slower than the second, that is not to say it was without impact, and Pinter’s punchy dialogue was delivered extremely well by the cast and evinced several laughs from the audience who were very responsive to the production. Spooner is loquacious which contrasts sharply with Hirst’s laconic responses, allowing the pair to display their intuitive acting with each other. McKellan and Stewart undoubtedly are great foils for each other as guest and host, and much of the humour was created by the implications of silence as well as visual humour through gestures and facial expression. Whilst for the most part this play appears to be the drunken ramblings of two men that have just met in the pub and then come home to carry on the session, there are also darker and more disturbing aspects to the situation. Stewart’s unsteady drunken sway that results in him lying on the floor and eventually crawling through the door is a result of being provoked by talk of his wife and though it is entertaining, it also pitiable.
In Act Two, Hirst seems to suddenly claim Spooner as someone from his past. In a reversal of the Act One, Hirst is now the chatty one, barely allowing Spooner to get a word in. Spooner allows this to continue, but it is questionable as to just how far these memories are legitimate or if he is just playing along to have a sense of temporary belonging or whether this really is his identity and the two are inextricably linked by their pasts and sharing of the same women. Foster (Damien Molony) and Briggs (Owen Teale) are also very well cast and inject another level of humour as well as threat into proceedings. Teale’s physical presence as Briggs is to be commended as he manages to maintain a threatening air in swagger and voice whilst wearing an apron to serve drinks and meals! The power hierarchy is also evident as the younger men, rather than being Hirst’s servants, seem to be the ones in control of him, particularly at the end when Hirst’s comment of “Let’s change the subject for the last time” is pounced on by Foster and it seems they will be eternally stuck in that moment, unable to move on.
Testimony to the ability of these actors, though much of it was played for laughs, the underlying tension was still present to unsettle the audience and make them question the circumstances surrounding the disparity between youth and age, the unreliability of memory, and the nature of love and achievement.
By Lucy Menon