Alison Bell in Betrayal; Photo by Shane Reid
The State Theatre Company produces yet another excellent show, this time exploring the stark power of Harold Pinter. At the Dunstan Playhouse until 15th August, Betrayal shows how ordinary and familiar events can sometimes be the most heartbreaking.
Betrayal is the story of an affair told backwards from end to beginning. Though it is a compelling love story, it is definitely not romantic or melodramatic. The scenes are every-day, the conversations polite, reserved and so very English. Telling the ending first prevents the audience getting swept up in the romance of the thing. This is clearly not the story of pre-destined lovers or happy endings. The first two scenes reveal three people each of whom has ended up in some way bitter or broken. This affair does not bring any of them transcendence. Instead they are lesser because of it.
Though the plot could be borrowed straight from Days of Our Lives (albeit with fewer evil twins and comas), the language is relentlessly soap free and ordinary. Momentous shifts in relationships, trust and love happen amidst discussions of tablecloths and how things are going at work. This feeling is supported by the clever set design, which leaves all the mundane things that make up this world – the clothes and furniture – on display throughout in a sort of rotating wardrobe around the stage. No magically appearing, ornate sets for this tale. Instead it happens in a world that can be broken down, understood and stored in the cupboard.
Betrayal focuses just as much on a broken friendship as the affair itself and shows that there is still plenty of scope to be faithless when sex isn’t involved. The cuckolded husband and his cheating best friend play out scenes just as toxic and cold as any between the two lovers. This friendship completes a triangle where betrayal flows back and forth along every side. In this world – that so closely resembles reality – lovers can betray each other by sticking with their marriages, betrayed husbands can be as detestable as cheating wives, and everybody lies to everyone, including themselves.
With all avenues of romantic retreat cut off, the audience is forced to confront this story soberly, noticing all the flaws and lies, all the human failings that go into making and sustaining these relationships. Without the sugar coating, it is bitter medicine.
Thankfully it’s also very compelling, not least because of the excellent performances of Nathan O’Keefe, Mark Saturno and Alison Bell. O’Keefe, often seen in more light-hearted roles, reminds ticket-holders that he can play serious with the best of them, turning in a rich, complex performance as a man who is both hopeful, endearing and weak. Saturno is darkly hilarious one second and seethingly angry the next, and shows restrained power as his role drives a lot of the play’s tension and plot development. Bell is spellbinding, able to inspire both hatred and sympathy in a single breath and completely convincing as the impressive yet relatable woman at the centre of this affair.
The world has changed a lot since this play was first performed in 1978. Attitudes towards marriage and social taboos have shifted enormously. But Betrayal isn’t really about what other people think. Its entire scope is the feelings of three ordinary people. It is a small, deeply private drama with a quiet and enduring power.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Betrayal
Cast Alison Bell, John Maurice, Nathan O’Keefe, Mark Saturno
Director Geordie Brookman
Melbourne Theatre Company, Southbank Theatre, The Sumner
26 August – 3 October 2015
State Theatre Company South Australia, Dunstan Playhouse
24 July – 15 August
