THE CARETAKER. To 14 April.
London.
THE CARETAKER
by Harold Pinter.
Tricycle Theatre To 14 April 2007.
Mon – Sat 8pm, Mat Sat 4pm &21,28 March 2pm.
Runs 2hr 30min One interval.
TICKETS: 0207 328 1000.
www.tricycle.co.uk
Review: Harriet Davis 21 March.
Worth the journey from Sheffield to Kilburn.
After a successful run at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre last year, Jamie Lloyd’s worthy production transfers to the Tricycle in Kilburn. Con O’Neill plays damaged, soft-spoken Aston, while David Bradley (excellent throughout) takes on the role of Davies. Nigel Harman plays sinister overseer Mick, whose threatening presence looms large.
Soutra Gilmour’s set is like a dank cupboard, filled with junk and cobwebs, while the music (by Ben and Max Ringham) provides an eerie, unreal atmosphere. The opening image is particularly striking. Mick sits in profile smoking a cigarette, gradually highlighted by shafts of light. Indeed, Mick’s foreboding presence becomes a staple of the first half, as he slinks in and out of scenes apparently unnoticed.
All three actors give strong, varied performances. Bradley’s Davies is repellent and perversely attractive in almost equal measure; a sly belligerent creature with a sharp instinct for survival. Harmon’s Mick is surreally compelling; at times dangerously still, at others prone to unexpected bouts of physicality. O’Neill’s Aston, by contrast, is powerfully understated. O’Neill plays on the character’s fragility; his use of silence as a shield, so that when Aston finally speaks – which he does at length – it has a profoundly moving effect.
Lloyd’s emphasis however, lies with the play’s hidden humour. He has a good ear for the finer nuances of Pinter’s words, and plays on their innate irony. All three characters are delusional; blind to their own failings and incapable of significant change. Davies is an aged tramp whose inflated sense of pride will not allow him to take a pair of boots without laces; Mick is an inept landlord who imagines himself a sophisticated entrepreneur.
The downside of this choice is that the production lacks a genuine sense of menace. Never are we convinced that Mick would act on his violent instincts, or that Davies would fight to protect either himself or his newfound environment. However, Lloyd creates an impressively complex dynamic between the characters, each of whom – confined to their own private worlds – is unable to draw any comfort from any other.
Mick: Nigel Harman.
Aston: Con O’Neill.
Davies: David Bradley.
Director: Jamie Lloyd.
Designer: Soutra Gilmour.
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick.
Sound: Christopher Shutt.
Music: Ben and Max Ringham.
2007-03-22 01:01:33