It’s the kind of premise that sounds a bit gimmicky: a play in which a love triangle destroys a marriage is presented in reverse order starting with the end of that marriage and ending with the best friend being introduced to the husband’s wife thus setting in motion the affair. But in the hands of playwright Harold Pinter, that premise has proven to work extraordinarily well. Earlier this year Jamie Lloyd directed a revival of Betrayal in London that starred Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox. That production just opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York for a run through December 8th.
I’ve only seen the film version – so far. But my memory of the beauty of Pinter’s writing is that you feel like you are watching a car accident in slow motion. Little things that seem insignificant at the beginning of the play carry much more weight when what precipitated them is revealed later. Except this isn’t a car accident. This is a marriage that subtlety reveals how and why it ultimately falls apart.
Betrayal has been staged on Broadway several times – no doubt because it offers terrific roles for the three actors at the center of the play. The first production starred Roy Scheider, Raul Julia and Blythe Danner in 1980. Twenty years later Juliette Binoche, Liev Schreiber and John Slattery starred. In 2013 Rachel Weisz, Daniel Craig and Rafe Spall starred. The 1983 film, directed by David Jones, starred Patricia Hodge, Ben Kingsley and Jeremy Irons. This production marks the Broadway debuts for all three leads.
This is dramatic theatre at its finest. If you find yourself in New York, Betrayal should be on your list of must-see shows.
For tickets go here.
Main image: Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, Charlie Cox in Betrayal/ All photos by Marc Brenner