Ashes to Ashes and Family Voices
by Harold Pinter
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Ashes to Ashes and Family Voices by Harold Pinter
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PREVIEW Pinter plays make it a must to catch RATS Well known local group RATS (Reigate Amateur Theatrical Society) will perform two plays by one of the country's most distinguished playwrights, Harold Pinter, at The Harlequin Studio, Redhill, in an evening of gripping drama. They have chosen to showcase his work in the first of their three annual productions and are promising one of their best shows to date. The first play, Ashes to Ashes, is a twohander between a husband and wife. Rebecca is haunted by her past, confused by what is real and what is in her memory, as her husband struggles to understand her. The second piece of drama, Family Voices, is all about a letter between a mother and son. In typical Pinter style, nobody really communicates with each other and we learn as much from what is unspoken as what is said out loud. Both plays are characterised by the way they blur reality and imagination, past and present, the predictable and the inconceivable, as we are taken into two quite different yet strangely similar worlds. Director Sarah Mates, who is well-known on the local am dram scene and is currently playing the lead role in East Surrey Operatic Society's recent production of Merrily We Role Along, says she has always been gripped by Pinter's work. "I find Pinter's writing very powerful," she says. "He expresses the ordinary in the most extraordinary way and makes us think about relationships and how we communicate. These two plays are perfect examples of these skills." It certainly looks set to be a thought-provoking and exciting evening of theatre. * An Evening of Harold Pinter will be performed by RATS at The Harlequin Studio, Redhill, from Thursday March 31 until Saturday April 2 at 8pm. Tickets are available from the box office: 01737 765547. |
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Harold Pinter Double Bill Reviewed by Tony Flook Some of Harold Pinter's many one-act plays can be described as 'enigmatic' - not always accessible but at least worthwhile and thought provoking. Some, though, seem merely obscure and, if the author has a point to make, it's so well hidden as to be impenetrable. The opening piece in RATS's recent double-bill, directed by Sarah Males at The Harlequin, fits reasonably into the first category. Originally written for radio, Family Voices features a mother and her son, living apart, who write - or maybe merely imagine - a series of letters which are never sent, reflecting their increasing estrangement. Gareth Lewis-Jones brought life to his role as the young man who describes the new home he shares with several eccentric people and leaving us wanting to know more about them. He projected his sense of excitement with well-judged changes of pace and intonation. Lydia Easton showed, throughout, that she was desperate to hear from her son but always sounded rather wistful and could have used more emphasis in places. Andy Roberts's brief contribution was delivered totally without emotion as if it was, indeed, coming from beyond the grave as the script implies. Ashes to Ashes, evokes memories of another, far more purposeful Pinter play, The Lover. We see a couple in some sort of relationship, assumed to be (but not necessarily) marriage, engaged in a disjointed conversation and discussing, amongst other things, the woman's previous involvement with a lover who, at the end, is probably the man she's talking to, anyway. Although I'm very much in favour of plays that make the audience think, the inconsequential ramblings in this piece left me asking only 'so what'? Certainly the actors in this two-hander gleaned what they could from the material. Catherine Adjei, immobile almost throughout, gave a compelling interpretation of the woman who, it appears, has lost touch with reality. Alan Ward's delivery tended to be more stilted - possibly a deliberate device but, if so, the reason was not obvious. His quick reactions to his partner's often dream-like reminiscences ensured that the pace never faltered. It was interesting to see this exploration of one our most respected living playwright's works but the programme was never going to attract more than a small, adventurous audience. |