How fitting that my blog, named after a statement by the great British absurdist, should be inaugurated by a review of two of his plays, Derby LIVE's presentation of The Dumb Waiter and A Kind Of Alaska as a double bill entitled A Pair of Pinters.
Esther Richardson's production opens with the playwright's 1957 one-acter The Dumb Waiter; two hitmen, Ben and Gus, are contemplating their employ in the basement of a deserted Birmingham restaurant whilst waiting for a job to be called in. Ben and Gus, after the latter's complaints of being hungry, wanting a cup of tea and not having 50p for the gas meter, are interrupted from their arguments by the posting of an envelope of matches under the door, swiftly followed by the lurching into life of the restaurant's old dumb waiter. The two are sent down increasingly complex food orders which they decide to attempt to fill with no gas. They go from sago puddings and tea to Greek and Chinese dishes to which all they can send is crips, biscuits and stale Eccles cake. Gus is overwhelmed by their inability to fill the orders and confronts Ben on their occupation, 'Who clears up after we're gone?', and then leaves to be ill in the adjoining toilet. Ben then recieves the orders for the hit from the dumb waiter's speaking tube, he is to kill the next person through the door. As he calls to his partner and prepares himself for the job, the door opens. It is Gus.
The production was well considered and the atmospheric lighting design gave the menace of the piece an extra dimension however the acting was over mannerised and accented. Equally, James Holmes' Gus was performed with an effete sensitivity which lost must of the audience's sympathy toward his crisis of conscience and made them disbelieve his role as a contract killer.
The second half gave way to a later play of Pinter's, A Kind of Alaska. Written in 1982 it follows the awakening of Deborah from an unexplained coma after 29 years in 'a kind of Alaska', her Doctor's name for the state she has been in. The doctor, now married to Deborah's younger sister Pauline, has brought her round with a special serum he has perfected over the years whilst Deborah still believes her self to be the 16 year old girl that fell into the sleep many years before. As Deborah has the gaps filled in on what she's missed, including the death of her mother and blinding of her father, she falls back into her sleep whilst the Doctor realises his marriage to Pauline is a sham, he spends all his time with the sleeping Deborah. Pauline declares herself a widow and Deborah's prison of coma descends upon her again.
This play was a glowing example of the work of the late Noble laureate with Julia Tarnoky’s performance serving to deliver beautifully and make so much of his famous 'pregnant pauses'. Aided by Simon Molloy's sonorous Doctor, they made this speak volumes in the silence and the absurdity of Deborah's girlish flits and wanton despair seem as cultured as any great work of verse. In this play Richardson go it just right and had a cast perfectly adept to the task.
A Pair of Pinters: ****
The Dumb Waiter: ***
A Kind of Alaska: *****
Image courtesy of Adam McCready