CARETAKER till 27 September

Bristol

THE CARETAKER: Harold Pinter
Bristol Old Vic: Tkts: 0117 987 7877
Runs: 3h, 2 intervals, till 27 September
Review: Stewart McGill: 10 September 2003-09-11

The Bristol Old Vic back with a vengeance, marvellous revival of Pinter classic: it would grace the stage of any major theatre.
One of the great and pioneering theatres in the British repertory movement has been reborn and is reinventing itself for a new generation of theatregoers in Bristol. Since the appointment of David Farr and Simon Reade as Artistic Directors of the Bristol Old Vic the company has re-emerged at the forefront of classical theatre in the UK. Having gone distinctly downhill over the past 10 years, theatre in Bristol in effect moved across the city to the vibrant Tobacco Factory, a former factory converted into a thrilling arena for classical and modern work. Reade and Farr pull no punches in their determination to evolve at the Old Vic a classical ensemble second to none and on the strength of their progress so far: they mean business.

Housed in the fading, but still beautiful, auditorium of the Theatre Royal, Bristol Old Vic launches the Autumn season with The Caretaker. Harold Pinter's quintessential 1960 work that thrust him into the forefront of a new movement and brought us 'Pinteresque' as a theatrical term. One of the obvious strengths of the new artistic leadership at the Old Vic is the power of Reade and Farr to attract top directors, designers and actors to the theatre thus reaffirming a faith in the survival of regional work to the highest possible standards.

Lindsay Posner directs and Christopher Oram designs, having recently staged Power at the NT. The visual conception of the flat in London where the tramp Davies is brought is superb. A collection of '60's momentos authentically placed and lovingly stored. Even the suspended bucket catching the drips from a leaking roof seems exact. The set creates the chilling world in which Pinters drama of power, relationships, memory and enigma unfolds. It is magnificent drama.

Central to the play is the mysterious tramp Davies played with towering force by Terence Rigby returning to Pinter and to the city after a long break. Who is this tramp so full of airs and graces, what is his history?. He speaks of former days, of knowing grandeaur, of dining with the best. Do we believe his suggested history or are we witnessing a man in complete delusion as the mind begins to fade and invented history replace the truth. Rigby is thrilling for every moment of the evening-and at three hours it is a haul. He is partnered by Paul Ritter's Mick and Simon Kunz as the strange, brain-damaged Aston. Each player demonstrates a mastery of Pinters lines and yes - those essential pauses, worked to such perfect effect. Pinter as a great dramatist and reflector of the times is perfectly seen in The Caretaker.

Why revive this 1960's work...? What does it say to today's audiences...other than revealing what was being raved about at the time. The Bristol Old Vic define classic as important work both of the past and contemporary It seems to me that in this play Pinter offers a perspective on the fears and anxieties that developed through the decades and brought us to the new Century. Underlying the movement of Davies throughout is a terror of the take over of London by immigrants....the 'Blacks' as he reveals are moving in and life is poorer for that. Through this character's eyes a chilling nightmare vision of Britain is foreseen and the national character infected. The debate sounds familiar as we watch the ports and seek to control our borders.

The swinging sixties was not all Beatles and flower power. Pinter takes his characters apart as they seek power and control...through language and always through the menace of violence under the surface. This is not a comfortable evening and it has tensions punctuated by the solid three act structure. Maybe I would sacrifice the second interval, however to sustain the momentum.

Bristol Old Vic aspire to create in the city a theatre of national focus on the German federal model where work of vital import can be seen across the country. This production would grace any major house and puts to shame much current West End content. It launches the company into an Autumn promising Shakespeare, Shepard and Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in the Main House alongside a challenging new works programme in the studio. Plans are being laid to develop the King Street theatre centre and ,should this happen, it will enable Bristol Old Vic to again serve as a model of how a theatre outside of London can define itself through challenging repertoire and first rate creative teams. National Theatre in the West of England-sounds fine to me.

Mick Paul Ritter
Aston Simon Kunz
Davies Terence Rigby

Director Lindsay Posner
Designs Christopher Oram
Lighting Design Hartley T.A.Kemp

2003-09-11 16:08:21