Review: Betrayal at Chapel Off Chapel

Review by Greg Gorton

Betrayal is one of Harold Pinter’s greatest plays, and Thursday’s Child theatre company has offered a world class production of it. Overflowing with absurdism, violence, and pain, this story of a messy love triangle and lies hammers home the complexities of human emotion. It leaves us scarred, and surprisingly sympathetic to all involved.

By the time I sat down in the black-box theatre, my expectations were high. I was scared that maybe it was too high. Pinter is one of my favourite authors and all three main actors I knew and respected as some of the best in the city. I sat staring at the seventies-style set while listening to contemporary music. I prayed to Dionysus that this was as good as I wanted it to be. It was.

The play runs backwards, perhaps the only aspect of Pinter’s script that I was never sold on. However, this production owns this element of the narrative. The actors regress from their chronologically final scenes, and I easily believe that I’m following the pasts that lead to the present. They do such a brilliant job that I personally found the vintage calendar that explicitly told the days and years a little patronising. However, the audience around me seemed to appreciate that explicit information, and may have needed it.

The set design, voice accents, and sound composition are placed soundly in seventies England. The set feels complex while only using a few pieces - a two-seater lounge, drinks tray, table, and two chairs. There is a creative use of curtains to recreate entrances, obscure views, and provide visual clues and metaphors. The existence or non-existence of sounds and music play with the seriousness or emptiness of each scene. The accents never slip.

To repeat, the three main actors were incredible. Heath Ivey-Law as Robert is the personification of silent violence. From his first lines, you can feel the anger, and the danger that Gabriel Partington’s Jerry is in. By the time there is a specific line of violent intent, the audience is terrified but unsurprised. As he winds a cloth around his fist, clearly indicating an oncoming punch, there are gasps all around me.

Partington’s Jerry is the epitome of a man broken, and as we watch the broken vase of his life reassemble like a video-clip unwound, we see the confidence return. Michaela Bedel plays Emma as a woman without agency, and even at the beginning of their chronological story, there is a sense of a woman looking for escape.

While most of the relationships are fully realised, I was never fully convinced by the relationship between Emma and Jerry, and felt that there was little chemistry between them. However, as the relationship was one of mutual attempts to escape, did there need to be physical chemistry? Likely not.

There are generally two ways to direct Pinter. You create a play steeped in realism, where the absurd lines and moments make a viewer uncomfortable and alienated. The other way is to lean heavily into the comedic absurdism until the viewer realises that they have been laughing at real people experiencing real suffering.

Rachel Baring takes the rare but impressive middle road. It is the kindest version to present to an audience, holding their hand as they slowly take the path from laughing to crying. This is obviously a toll on actors, and Baring has done amazing work helping them find the tone required in each scene.

I’m not sure there is a major criticism to be found in this play. If you enjoy Pinter, you will love this play. If you want to see the best actors in town, you will love this play. If you want a modernist tragedy, you will love this play. Betrayal is a reminder that you don’t need complex narrative gimmicks, high concept political messages, or multimedia experiences to stand out in contemporary theatre. You just need a small group of people, like Thursday’s Child, who are experts at what they do. Betrayal is not a show to miss.

Image Supplied