Harold Pinter's masterpiece comes alive in the hands of the State Theatre Company.
Largely autobiographical and immensely human, Harold Pinter's 'Betrayal' tells the tale of a seven-year affair, in reverse order. Starting at the sticky end, the play traces back in time and details the unravelling and re-forming of the characters after everything is out in the open. Alison Bell plays the woman at the centre of the story, Emma.
“It's about three people – Emma, Robert and Jerry. Emma and Robert are married, Jerry and Robert are best friends and Emma and Jerry have an affair for seven years. So it kind of follows that story and the tensions that are created and the genius of the piece is that it tells the story in reverse. So it starts when everything's over and revealed and goes backwards – it's very easy for us to imagine what happens next when watching a narrative but I do think it's very hard for us to go the other way and try to imagine what happened before that. When I first watched it I found it really compelling and surprising because of that.”
Written in 1978, 'Betrayal' contains many references to the time period that modern audiences may not quite understand, but Bell is certain that the characters themselves will overcome any generational issues.
“Geordie [director] is going to keep it in the period it was written as a lot of the references are too time-specific. But I mean, the interactions are so complex and nuanced and human that I don't think setting it in the '70s will detract from its resonance.”
Drawing largely on personal experience when writing, Pinter has woven a tale that is thoroughly engaging for the actors and and the audience.
“When I read that script what strikes me is how spare and honest and brutal the interactions are and that's what really grabs me as an actor. It's really hard to not click into that sort of judgmental place when you're reading it but because of how honest Pinter is, it does have that truth about it, there's nothing that tries to justify or rationalise the events. I feel as if he's been able to stand back from his own life and just watch it.
“But I guess there are qualities in Emma which I sympathise with and that's a nice place to start when you're about to walk into a role. There's something very every-woman about her, even if she does something a lot of us wouldn't do, I like that she comes across as an affable, intelligent, well-intentioned human being. She's not written as a temptress or any of those horrible clichés that you usually associate with scarlet women, it's devoid of that. She's just a woman. She's a mother and a wife and she has a career and I like that she could be any one I know.”
Previously in Adelaide for the State Theatre Company's production 'Hedda Gabler', Bell is excited to once more be going on tour, and in particular to return to Adelaide. “I enjoy the experience of working in different theatres, I've worked in Adelaide twice before and I certainly enjoyed coming to Adelaide, the company's a beautiful company to work for, and it's a really relaxed city to work in. This will be a lovely tour.”
Working with such a well-known piece of writing can be daunting, and Bell admits she does occasionally stop and think about those who have gone before her in the role of Emma. However, she also seems strikingly confident that she and the rest of the team will produce a wonderful production independent of previous versions.
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“For the most part those sort of pressures are not on my mind, the only time they do come into play is when people begin making comparisons, which is fair enough because that's the beauty of theatre, you get a lot of different people contributing their own versions of works. I enjoy working on pieces of this acclaim because what it means is that it's great writing. I saw the Broadway production that was on in 2013 and so it's interesting to have that production in my mind – which can be a negative or a positive but I'm hoping to leave that at the door when I walk in. We'll create our version of 'Betrayal' that will reflect the artists that are in the rehearsal room.”
Betrayal Tour Dates
24 Jul – 15 Aug – Dunstan Playhouse (Adelaide)19 Aug – 22 Aug – The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre (Canberra)
26 Aug – 3 Oct – Southbank Theatre, The Sumner (Melbourne)
