Direction : Rachel Dsouza Writer : Harold Pinter Cast : Vivek Gomber, Abir Abrar, Sukant Goel and Sarthak Sharma
BETRAYAL Review
BETRAYAL written by Harold Pinter in 1978 is a play written largely for its outstanding use of words and economical dialogues rather than a cataclysmic story for stage. The plot isn't suspenseful and nor are there revelations. Before the story could unveil on the stage the spectators already know the end, as the play begins with the end and goes backward in time chronologically. The play is structured in reverse chronology; it opens with the conclusion of the affair that ended in 1977; and then goes back scene-wise from 1977 to 1973, instances from 1973, and crucial moments until 1968. Betrayal is a reverse sequence of events over the period of nine years- 1968 to 1977, in the life of a self-loathing Book publisher Robert, jaded gallery worker as well his wife Emma, and an arrogant literary agent Jerry who is also Robert's dear friend.
Pinter's BETRAYAL may seem like a love triangle but the use of economic dialogue, power-play of characters, a mode of communication used by the characters to hide rather than reveal, micro-level usage of syntax, through subtext, ellipses, and pauses is what sets the play apart as well relevant even in modern and postmodern context. Set between 1968 and 1977 in Britain, the period covers a tumultuous time in rapidly changing British society, culture, and politics. Set amidst this backdrop are Emma, Robert, and Jerry. Emma is married to Robert and in a love affair with Jerry (Robert's best friend) who is married to Judith. For five years Jerry and Emma carry on their affair without Robert's knowledge, both cuckolding Robert and betraying Judith, until Emma, without telling Jerry she has done so, admits her infidelity to Robert (in effect, betraying Jerry), although she continues their affair. Betrayal is a story of love and loyalty, desires and passion, intimacy, physical or mental, however without anything to do with morality and that's what also makes Pinter's Betrayal unique: for its writing on a subject of deception but without holding the hand of morality.
Three Part's Company with Aadyam Theatre has brought this classic work to stage in its original form and not an adaptation. So, the backdrop is Britain, Costume styles are referenced from 1970s Britain, the language is British-English and the set is contemporary and suggestive. The music is live accompanied by a harpist (Nush Lewis) along with sound designed by Rahul Nadkarni. Designed and directed by Rachel D'souza, this is Rachel's first solo direction after spending about fifteen years in theatre making primarily in the area of movement direction. Playing the role of Robert is Vivek Gomber who has given an exceptional performance along with Sukant Goel as Jerry and Abir Abrar as Emma. The performance of the three actors is the core strength of this version of Betrayal. Betrayal is not an easy play to put on stage, especially because of its elliptic dialogues. The play doesn't use the traditional character development technique in its original text and therefore it becomes extremely difficult for an actor to convey their intentions with economical words and sentences that hardly stretch beyond two lines. Further, to tell a story of deception without clearing the motives and moral standpoints, in absolutely sparse dialogues puts a toll on the actor's and director's interpretations and this is where this production emerges successful. Abir Abrar has played Emma with such conviction and strength along with moments of vulnerability making her relatable and very realistic. Similarly, Vivek as Robert has delivered some of the scenes with such emotional depth but at the same time maintained the thin line of keeping the mathematical play of words as penned (intended) by Pinter and not crossing the line of making it over and above emotional.
The high point of the play is the scene that unveils in the Hotel Room in the Summer of 1973 when Robert and Emma are on holiday, intending to visit Torcello the next day. It is here that we as spectators discover that Emma has received a letter from Jerry and she eventually reveals to Robert that they are lovers. The emotional resilience delivered by Vivek is noteworthy with his eyes looking up in zero hour asking ‘Do you really want to go to Torcello tomorrow?', a scene where he discovers what he already might have known yet it was unknown as it was never discovered. Also, the discovery of Emma and Jerry as lovers is not revealed through some dramatic questioning between a couple but simply through minimal sentences and economical gestures. Aesthetically, this was also a better-designed scene in the play when it came to set, property, colors, textures, and light. Sukant Goel as Jerry delivers some fine scenes with his pauses and childlike eyes placed on the face of an arrogant agent, particularly the scene where Emma reveals that she is pregnant.
Three Parts Company's version of BETRAYAL has some cardinal moments in performance making, actors dialogue delivery, and scene changes. However, the scenes seemed to not emerge in the magnitude that they should, probably due to a set that's scattered. A paraphernalia of objects in the backdrop on top of brown carton boxes is overtly suggestive of their bulky presence. The changing chairs of pubs and homes don't lend enough support to the changing aesthetics of spaces. A play grounded in the economy of words, intertextuality, and the ability of language to hide as much as it reveals requires a set design on these lines such as a modest unadorned layout, intertextual stage scenery, and a visual language that also shows as much as hides.
Pinter's BETRAYAL has its strength in Time and memory in the Proustian sense of how truths are discovered not due to the fact that they were hidden but largely due to the play of time. It's not about discovering who is betraying whom, it's about knowing ‘when', and therefore in the reverse chronological scenes, the play leaves enough moments for the audience to ponder about what they already know but ‘how and when'. Memory and reconstruction and epistemological grounds of knowledge-making are the core of Betrayal. The play demands focussing on the power of language, which is so quick at times and as well slow; mounted in a way that confesses, conceals, seduces, and intimidates moving away from moral stances and character's intentions. The actors deliver their best to bring out the play of knowledge-making in BETRAYAL but at the same time, the deranged sense of aural aesthetics dissipates the devastating effect of the language play used here in which the ellipses, evasions, and subtext doesn't blossom as much as it could have.
*Dr. Omkar Bhatkar is a Sociologist and Playwright. He has been teaching Film Theory and Aesthetics and involved in theatre-making, poetry, and cinema for a decade now. He runs the eclectic St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts and is the Artistic Director of Metamorphosis Theatre and Films.
