OLD TIMES by Harold Pinter (Unit 102). At the Dirt Underneath (101 Niagara, #205). To September 24. $25. unit102tix@gmail.com. See Continuing. Rating: NN
Harold Pinter‘s 1971 play Old Times, remounted by Unit 102 Theatre in a small studio space in the soon-to-be-redeveloped Coffin Factory building on Niagara, leaves the audience with more questions than answers.
The action centres on the reunion of old London flatmates Kate (Lauren Horejda) and Anna (Anne van Leeuwen), who haven’t seen each other in 20 years. Anna visits Kate at her converted farmhouse in the English countryside, where she lives with her pompous and bombastic husband, Deeley (Mark Paci). Their catching up and reminiscing soon gets tense and complicated – especially after Kate retires to take a bath and Deeley confronts Anna about an encounter he claims they had before he met Kate.
The ensuing jockeying for power is trademark Pinter, and thanks to the cozy realistic living room set squeezed into the tiny studio space, their sparring starts off feeling very intimate. That dynamic is hampered by the cast’s inconsistent British accents, which come and go from line to line.
Additionally, more might have been done with the set and direction to tease out or suggest some of the possible explanations for what’s actually going on.
That doesn’t mean abandoning a realistic approach. Indeed, one of Pinter’s strengths is his grounding of ideas explored very abstractly and symbolically by Samuel Beckett (like his mysterious love triangle drama, Play) in more relatable settings. But to be able to really appreciate and chew on the unclear conclusion, the audience needs some pointers.
Are they all dead and in limbo? Do they represent fragments of a single consciousness? A few hints from director Scott Walker at these possible metaphysical interpretations would make Old Times a better time.
stage@nowtoronto.com | @jordanbimm
