1 post tagged “the collection”

You need a thick skin for the this theatre lark. First there was the watch incident at Leaves of Glass last year. Now acting stalwart Timothy West virtually spat on me during his performance in Harold Pinter's The Collection at the Comedy Theatre. It's the price you have to pay for being on the front row I suppose.

The Collection was second in a double bill of Pinter plays, the first being The Lover. I confess I've never seen a Pinter although I vaguely remember reading The Caretaker when I was a student.
My boss had sung Pinter's praises as a comedic playwright when I mentioned to him my planned evening and that together with promising cast (Gina McKee, Richard Coyle and the lovely Charlie Cox who was last seen in the film Stardust) made it entertaining evening in prospect.
The Lover was predominantly a two-character piece, well acted and with enough intrigue to leave you amused and thought-provoked but compared to the The Collection lacked a little pace. Perhaps it was the addition of a couple of extra characters that helped by giving the story more threads which Pinter expertly tangles, untangles and just as he looks ready to tie up the lose ends leaves you ensnared and puzzled but in a pleasant way.
There are few real belly laugh moments, but Pinter's skill is in amusement and plain old wit. In these two play's he takes infidelity as the central theme but treats it in a way that challenges common perception.
It was an enjoyable evening despite West's spit narrowly missing my leg and not least because Cox is a talented bit of eye candy. And, it has left me wanting to read both plays to learn more and definitely see more Pinter.