Trust lost
Three contemporary plays at the Wartburg
.By Harold Pinter
Jerry and Emma have cheated - their spouses, for years. And Jerry also cheated on his best friend Robert, because Emma is his wife. After their affair ends, Jerry and Emma meet again, and suddenly they must realize that the cheating is pervasive: Not only is Robert, in turn, cheating on his wife, but he has known about his wife's relationship with Jerry for years.
Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter has found a special narrative trick for his play "Cheated." He unfolds the plot in reverse chronological order. Little by little, it is thus revealed before the audience's eyes how the disillusioned people they see at the beginning have become what they are. And how, over a long period of time, they have continued to weave a tightly woven web of lies and self-deception. Pinter's 1977 drama is captivating for its psychological accuracy. Following his walk down memory lane is at times quite hilarious. And sometimes endlessly sad.
Pinter knew what he was writing about: two decades after its premiere, it was revealed that he had entertained an affair with a television presenter for seven years. Still, the play is not an autobiography, because Pinter's phrase applies: "The truth in drama is always deceptive."
Source and further information: http://www.staatstheater-wiesbaden.de/programm/spielplan/2018-10/betrogen-2018-2019/4932/
Three contemporary plays at the Wartburg
.By Harold Pinter
Jerry and Emma have cheated - their spouses, for years. And Jerry also cheated on his best friend Robert, because Emma is his wife. After their affair ends, Jerry and Emma meet again, and suddenly they must realize that the cheating is pervasive: Not only is Robert, in turn, cheating on his wife, but he has known about his wife's relationship with Jerry for years.
Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter has found a special narrative trick for his play "Cheated." He unfolds the plot in reverse chronological order. Little by little, it is thus revealed before the audience's eyes how the disillusioned people they see at the beginning have become what they are. And how, over a long period of time, they have continued to weave a tightly woven web of lies and self-deception. Pinter's 1977 drama is captivating for its psychological accuracy. Following his walk down memory lane is at times quite hilarious. And sometimes endlessly sad.
Pinter knew what he was writing about: two decades after its premiere, it was revealed that he had entertained an affair with a television presenter for seven years. Still, the play is not an autobiography, because Pinter's phrase applies: "The truth in drama is always deceptive."
Source and further information: http://www.staatstheater-wiesbaden.de/programm/spielplan/2018-10/betrogen-2018-2019/4932/
