Daniel Murphy and Kerith Atkinson in A Slight Ache; Photo by Dylan Evans.
Uncomfortable, dated, and prone to rambling monologues, the double-bill of Harold Pinter’s A Slight Ache & The Lover is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. The creative team of Now Look Here does it’s best to deliver a production worthy to follow up with last year’s successful sellout of The Seagull, however difficulties with Pinter’s works are somewhat evident; the cast plays a variety of roles throughout the evening, and yet some characters ​are too similar to others. Daniel Murphy’s roles of ‘Richard’ in The Lover and of ‘Edward’ in A Slight Ache appear to borrow from each other despite being from two separate plays. Murphy’s role as the lover ‘Max’ is a more emotionally diverse role, and shows a complete reversal of the husband’s distant, and lacklustre portrayal. This allows the audience to become sympathetic and invested in his character. Kerith Atkinson does an excellent job with her roles, creating emotionally powerful performances throughout both plays. Perhaps, one could even suggest that Atkinson, carried the performance from beginning to end, despite the inherent flaws of Pinter’s works.
In The Lover, the audience will be exposed to the lifestyles of a 1950s housewife named ‘Sarah’ and her husband ‘Richard’, who are distant, cold, and unloving as a married couple. They each take a lover and have several rendezvous over the years to keep the passion of love alive within themselves. However, they hold a secret from the audience until the end; a twist that will resolve certain confusing plot holes that leave the audience wondering and guessing as to where they will be taken next.
A Slight Ache, on the other side, is a darker piece in which a married couple ‘Flora’ and ‘Edward’ come to encounter a shell of a man (Zachary Boulton) outside their garden gate selling matches. Confounded by this man, and his inability to understand him, Edward hatches an elaborate plan to lure the match-seller into his lounge, in an attempt to identify what this man is doing outside his house. After a long-winded and rather tedious exchange between Edward & the match-seller, it turns to Flora who likewise attempts, before returning back to Edward – all of which is to no avail. Ultimately, Edward collapses under the pressure of his self-imposed task, and Flora begins to fall for the mysterious man.
Harold Pinter is a challenging playwright to tackle. His writing is often filled with dated connotations and sexist undertones. At points throughout the evening, the audience hears lines delivered such as ‘you’re only a woman’, which triggers stifled uncomfortable laughter from the audience – an aspect of absurd-ism that hasn’t changed much over the past 50 years since the play’s inception. Kate Wild however, manages to develop an interesting take of what originally was a radio play, and creates a raw piece of theatre that has so much potential. Working alongside other individuals (Christine Felmingham and Penelope Challen) to utilise the Studio at Metro Arts to its fullest, it is an excellent collaboration between three talented women. Lighting, costumes, and direction merge as one complete vision, and ultimately not only support each other, but actively compliment accurate yet subtle details – creating a balance of not being too over-the-top, nor too underwhelming for the black box style studio.
While, there are flaws as with any production, Now Look Here has managed to mount a set of performances that will rise to the occasion, it will ruffle some feathers, but others will find A Slight Ache & The Lover to be quite enjoyable. Regardless of how the audience may feel at the end of this performance, one cannot deny that there is both potential, and room for growth. But one thing is certain above all else, the performances are a true reflection of the spirit and embodiment of Pinter’s creations.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
A Slight Ache & The Lover
Directed by: Kate Wild
Written by: Harold Pinter
Produced by: Pip Boyce
Lighting by: Christine Felmingham
Costumes by: Penelope Challen
Cast: Kerith Atkinson, Zachary Boulton, Daniel Murphy.
Presented by: Now Look Here
Metro Arts – The Studio
8 – 19 MAR 2016
