KEY POINTS:
Off-stage, Oliver Driver polarises people in his various roles as Alternative TV station-owner, corporate MC and TV presenter, but in the Silo Theatre production of Pinter's Betrayal it is clear he is a theatre actor with class.
In Pinter's intriguingly ambiguous play of morals and manners, Driver gives
a sensitive and restrained performance that teases out all the nuances of the script.
Known for his brash outbursts and skills as a comedic performer, it's nice to see him play it straight and be emotionally vulnerable on stage.
Driver's performance embraces all the flaws and self-deception of his character, Gerry, and perhaps that's why you find yourself rooting for him even though you really shouldn't.
After all, he's a coward and a cheat who despite being married himself, initiates a seven-year affair with Emma, who is married to his best friend, Robert.
Colin Moy is the dark to Driver's light. As the cuckolded Robert, he is a silent but scary volcano of repressed emotion that seems ready to explode at any moment. Although initially sympathetic, he has a few dirty secrets of his own that make him equally flawed.
Michelle Langstone has some nice moments as Emma and it's fitting that her character is resentful of Robert and Gerry's affection for each other as it's the men's relationship that takes centre stage in this production.
The acting performances are gripping, but some of the direction and design decisions seemed a little off. With the Silo's Under Milk Wood director Caroline Bell-Booth struck with nostalgia she made the classic charming and accessible by setting it in a radio studio - the perfect fit for a play with voices.
In Betrayal she's shifted a 1970s-era play to 2007 without apparent rhyme or reason. The original text remains intact so there is a clash of eras when characters eat stews in one scene and then takeaways from white noodle boxes in another; or when they talk of clandestine love letters and public phone box calls which should really be emails and mobile calls. Also Emma's floral apron and her lacy Venetian tablecloth are chintzy 70s relics that seem at odds with the rest of the sleek and soulless furnishings in Rachael Walker's black and grey set. Overall, the present-day setting seems an unnecessary contrivance when Pinter's brilliance is enough to make this a timeless tale.
There were some design highlights with Jane Hakaraia's simple but effective lighting and the tone-perfect costumes and music. No costume designer is credited but if Sophie Ham's wardrobe management extends to selection of the garments, then she has done a fine job of selecting classic clothes appropriate to each character.
Emma's final sparkly party dress is a standout with its sexy sequins. It's easy to see why Gerry was "dazzled" into betraying his best friend.
Andrew McMillan's sound design and composition adds emotional tension and he's right on the money with his use of the heart-wrenching Steve Abel song Duet (Lonely I Be).
Decades before the film Momentum impressed audiences with its time-shifting chronology, Betrayal intrigued with its tale of love and deceit told in reverse. It still feels fresh and it's a clever way to make the audience feel complicit in the action. Design misfires aside, this production is worth seeing (it's on till July 19) for the strong performances.
