Review: BETRAYAL at Irish Classical Theatre

Eavesdropping, snooping or just morbid curiosity seemed to be the scene set in Harold Pinter's play BETRAYAL now playing in a riveting production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre. The playgoer sits on the sidelines, witnessing a deeply personal story of three  broken people, best kept behind closed doors.  

Pinter uses the concept of telling the story in reverse  ( an idea used by Moss Hart in his 1934 play  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, which later was the basis for the Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name). In doing so, we first meet Jerry and Emma years after their 7 year extramarital affair has ended. Emma is the wife of Jerry's best friend Robert. The lovers share a little apartment for their escapades, fully believing their spouses have no hint of their relationship.

Before a recent performance it was announced that the sound system was not working, but the play would go one as scheduled. What resulted was a performance that brought so much immediacy and reality, wholly unemcumbered by everything except for the brilliant text. 

This 3 hander of a play is much like a reverse telling of the story found in SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR. But in BETRAYAL. maintaining a friendship with your lover's husband makes the premise  deliciously icky.  The script unfolds with a series of short scenes over 80 minutes. The lack of intermission heightens the tension, and with the  luminous cast, we witness post breakup tension without yet knowing the details.

Anthony Alcocer is simply perfect as Jerry,  firmly convinced he is able to carry out an affair without ever raising any suspicion from anyone. His British  accent, along with the rest of the cast, is spot on and he finds a conversational style that anchors his performance in reality. Long uncomfortable pauses and curt niceties in the first scene make it clear that his affair with Emma  has ended badly. Alcocer transforms from heart broken adulterer to lust crazed young lover before our eyes. 

Alek Malejs' portrayal of Emma is more based in  the here and now, resigned to the life she must now lead. She begins the play telling Jerry that her marriage is ending and her husband knows everything. Malejs is full of tension, clearly a broken woman as a result of her affair.  Although obviously in love with Jerry, it becomes evident that she was the stronger of the two, possibly coerced into the affair, but also not blameless. Malejs conveys heartbreak beautifully, yearning for any evidence that her former lover still thinks of her or longs for her.

Steve Copps is great as the scorned husband Robert  and gets to deliver some great one liners. He has a keen sense of the effects of infidelity, and Pinter paints him as a survivor and realist. Although his best friend has stolen his own wife, life can still go on, in many aways untouched by the past. Copps is  firmly  in command and  takes charge with a calm yet intense performance ( which is often counterintuitive to what one  would expect-- this story is not a soap opera depiction of deceit, but rather a smart and intelligent story of heartbreak).

Director Greg Natale guides the drama with laser like intensity, often with little movement,  complemented by Jayson Clark's effective lighting.  He stages fluidly, with each scene morphing in to the next, having one character lingering a while on the same stage as the other two characters carry on. The result establishes how the actions of each of the players affects the other.  The lovers clearly had a unique relationship built on love, deceit and lust. The final scene of the play is both fully satisfying  and disturbing in sowing the seed for an affair that we know is doomed.

BETRAYAL plays at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre through March 17, 2024. Contact irishclassical.com for more information. 

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