Harold Pinter’s Betrayalis a fascinating play, and with three Brits who know how to articulate in the roles of the participants in a love triangle, Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Rafe Spall, we catch every word. In a subtle play like this, every word is important.
Director Mike Nichols gives exquisite timing to Pinter’s famous pauses, adding depth and revealing of character to each of them as the play travels back in time. It is riveting. Craig is strong, but vulnerable, Weisz, showing a wide range of emotional possibilities, is marvelous in all her interactions with the two men. Spall is a fine actor, with, for me, a glitch: the more emotional he gets, the more he pulls his voice back into his throat, until he is growling.
The active, imaginative set, smoothly changing settings, by Ian Macneil is excellent, and so is lighting by Brian Mscdevitt. Ann Roth’s costumes fit perfectly. The totality is so interesting, so well done, that I’ll surely go back for another visit to this terrific theatrical experience. I just wish they wouldn’t smoke so much on the stage -- it drifts into the theater and is a distracting irritant.
