Betrayal

Oak Park-River Forest Performing Arts Center (the former Village Players)

The play is by Harold Pinter and since The Homecoming blew my mind a few years back, I thought I best go see this and get to know this playwright a little better.

I'm glad I did.

The theater is just a small room, painted black with risers and maybe 60 or so seats - maybe. There was a delight upon entering the room and seeing a very simple set, knowing that it would be completely transformed in just a few minutes.

The play was very good. It's about that age-old topic: an affair. It centered on two couples, although you only saw three of the characters. Two male friends and a wife who is sleeping with the friend. As the name suggests, it's about the worst part of an affair - the betrayal. It's specifically about how the known story has to be severely changed once news of the affair gets out. And, therein lies the betrayal - you thought you knew your story, but you actually didn't know anything at all. Your own history is completely different.

This play is particularly known for putting a reverse chronological device on the map. The story is told backwards. I wished I hadn't seen that episode of Seinfeld with reverse chronology which is something that they actually borrowed from this play. I thought it was brilliant, then - and my delight in it was somewhat dimmed by TV exposure. It was a perfect marriage (so-to-speak) between device and topic in this play, though. Clever to the point of brilliant.

The acting was top-notch. It felt unbelievably well-rehearsed and well-directed, I thought. I actually couldn't believe the acting was so good for such a small theater company. And, here is an unusual comment for me - the costumes. The costumes were really good. Just plain clothes, but expertly tailored, appropriate and well-chosen. And, there were actually quite a few costume changes in the play.

I would definitely go back this season to see more after this excellent treatment of this play. I've seen Faith Healer which is coming up next, I think - and I don't know if I want to mix new images into my memory of Ralph Fiennes doing the part on Broadway so well. But, if you haven't seen Faith Healer - you probably should. They are doing Shakespeare at the end of the season and I look forward to that.