Promo photos by Eric Tronolone.

Director Note:

Betrayal takes place over an eight-year period of time, in a variety of locations, around London, except for one scene that occurs in Venice, Italy. Though the play was written in 1978, the universal and timeless nature of the subject matter effortlessly adapts to an ambiguously contemporary time period.  In that same vein, the scenery, lighting, costumes, and props are also minimalist in nature in order for them to be a part of every and any where. The trappings of the physical world are not what is important in the telling of this story.  It is also important for the audience to know that the play is set in reverse chronology, with the first scene of the play occurring eight years after the beginning of a long-term adulterous love affair which has its origins in the final scene of the play.  British playwright, Harold Pinter is recognized as one of the most influential dramatists of the modern theatre. Pinter’s use of reverse chronology was groundbreaking at the time, and is still a prevalent story telling device used in film, television, and stage to this day. Critic Roger Evert wrote, “It (reverse chronology) is the very heart and soul of this story. It means that we in the audience know more about the unhappy romantic fortunes of Jerry and Robert and Emma at every moment than they know about themselves. Even their joy is painful to see.”

In its declaration of Pinter’s winning the Nobel Prize in Literature 2005, it was written that Pinter, “who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms.” To this sentiment, there are no innocents in Betrayal. Pinter, locks Robert and Emma, husband and wife, and Emma’s lover Jerry, her husband’s oldest and best friend, into a love triangle that leaves no one unscathed. The betrayals are more than just those between husband and wife, and best friends, they are non-stop and multilevel occurring not only between characters, but also within one’s self, to one’s own belief systems and integrity, even to unseen spouses, clients, and children.

The illusions, delusions, and denial that the characters are adrift in, which we, the audience, also experience in our own lives, creates the commonality and understanding we share with Pinter’s characters and story. This connection makes “Betrayal” such a deeply personal experience for audiences forty-five years after its writing.

 Greg Natale, Director