A triangle has three sides. But the three sides are not always equal, as we learn in maths. Or geometry, if you’re an American. And so it is in Betrayal, the brief but brittle Harold Pinter play now on stage at Goodman Theatre, directed by artistic director Susan Booth.
The play dramatizes several deceptions and betrayals. Its reverse chronology begins in 1977 and moves back in time to 1968, where the betraying pair meet at a party in the home of Emma and Robert, played by Helen Hunt and Ian Barford. Already well into drunkenness, party guest Jerry (Robert Sean Leonard) approaches Emma and tells her how he adores her (despite the fact that he too is married and was best man at her wedding to Robert). She resists but by scene’s end, the pair embrace and kiss passionately. And that’s how the play ends. (No spoilers here because we know that it happens from scene one.)
The play is performed in nine scenes, usually with two characters in each, on a sparely designed stage (by Neil Patel), with projections that identify the setting for each scene. (Projections by RaseanDavonté Johnson, lighting by Xavier Pierce. Sound design and music by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen.) As we move back in time from 1977, we learn how the seven-year affair started, how it ended, and what happened to the participants, including who betrayed whom and when. Discussions of betrayal are part of every scene. Not only did both Emma and Jerry betray Robert, but Robert betrayed Emma and Jerry betrayed his wife Judith. Etc., etc., etc.
In the 2019 Broadway production of Betrayal, the third character was always on stage. The very minimalist stage design had only a few pieces of furniture. The third character was always off to the side, but there, as if to suggest that the third side of a triangle cannot be ignored.
Pinter’s dialogue is spare but always to the point, with the pauses and moments of silence that the playwright is known for. The three actors each perform their roles thoughtfully, with passion or quiet angst. The fourth character, an Italian waiter (Nico Grelli), is a delightful cameo role and always an audience favorite. The waiter adds some welcome levity to the scene and we wish the plot had required more meals in that Italian café.
Betrayal has had other notable Chicago productions. In Steppenwolf Theatre’s 2007 production, Ian Barford switched roles to play Jerry with Tracy Letts playing Robert and Amy Morton as Emma. Raven Theatre’s 2016 production was an excellent production performed in its smaller theater. Its most notable casting was the Italian waiter, who we meet when Jerry and Robert meet for lunch in a restaurant in Venice. The waiter was played by Richard Cotovsky, founder and artistic director of the late Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company.
You also can see the 1983 film of Pinter's Betrayal, directed by David Jones, with Jeremy Irons as Jerry, Ben Kingsley as Robert, and Patricia Hodge as Emma. It's on YouTube.
After the play, my plus-one and I both commented that the actors seemed too old for their roles. (Hunt is 61 and Leonard and Barford are 55 and 58.) Pinter’s script describes the characters as 38 (Emma) and 40 (Jerry and Robert), which seems the right age since they have young children. But director Booth intentionally cast older actors, she said in a WBEZ interview, because she feels that the older actors “challenge the inherent belief that there is time to heal the wounds of a romantic affair.” That casting may have added an implied healing time to the story, but aging the characters muddles their authenticity.
When I reviewed the 2016 production of Betrayal, I wrote that the play is proof of what an old friend of mine used to advise: “Married people .should fool around with married people.” Her reasoning was that when a single person has an affair with a married person, the result can only be heartbreak for the unmarried person (which was almost always a woman in those days). But Pinter’s Betrayal shows how an affair between two married people curdles multiple relationships.
You can see Betrayal at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., where it has been extended through March 30. Running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $40-$175 for performances Tuesday-Sunday.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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