Review Roundup: BETRAYAL at Theatre Royal Bath - What Did the Critics Think?

Theatre Royal Bath is now presenting Betrayal. The show runs from 14 October to 31 October.

This production is following all government guidance and in consultation with health and safety advisors, covid-secure measures in place include reduced capacity, mandatory face coverings, hand sanitiser units, thermal temperature checks, and more.

Betrayal, Harold Pinter's mesmerising masterpiece of relationships and adultery, is directed by Jonathan Church and stars Nancy Carroll, Joseph Millson, Edward Bennett and Christopher Bianchi.

Let's see what the critics are saying...

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Cheryl Markosky, BroadwayWorld: Director Jonathan Church's excellent production draws us into a world of free love, albeit one where the subtext isn't as liberating. He conveys this through a revolving set of 1960s Parker Knolls furniture in grey and yellow hues (by designer Alex Eales); sound designer and composer Jon Nicholls' eerie soundscape (ghostly children's laughter and pub noises); and soft shadows from lighting designer Joshua Carr. Costumes by Laura Hunt convey time shifts through the two decades, with Emma's swirly orange mini-dress a favourite.

Sarah Crompton, WhatsOnStage: Certainly Nancy Carroll's transfixing performance as Emma, the woman having a relationship with her husband Robert's best friend Jerry, seems to embody Bakewell's sense that she sought out passion with Pinter as much because he offered an alternative way of seeing herself, and trying to find a more happy home. This is a very domestic drama, characterised by stews cooked and tablecloths bought for a North London love nest rather than exotic liaisons. Emma is seduced by a promise of a different world and suddenly her longing seems the heart of things, where sometimes she can seem peripheral to the exploration of male bonding that the play also offers.

Mark Lawson, The Guardian: Joseph Millson's louche, potentially brutal Robert treats every conversation with wife or friend as a contest, willing to lose dignity as long as he wins the fight. Edward Bennett's less than usually stolid Jerry is interestingly more cunning than drunk in the party scene where he sets out to win Emma. Nancy Carroll's poshly self-confident Emma reveals her as the driver of these lives, coldly deciding when both her marriage and affair end.

Bath Echo: Pinter is at the top of his game here, creating a story that is both intriguing and accessible. The razor sharp direction from Jonathan Church ensures a hugely engaging experience. The excellent cast of Edward Bennett (Jerry) Nancy Carroll (Emma) Robert (Joseph Milson) alongside a great cameo by Christopher Bianchi as the Waiter bring great depth and pain to the characters.

Patrick Marmion, The Daily Mail: Edward Bennett, in the Pinter role of the man having an affair with his best friend's wife, brings emotional uncertainty to a part which in other hands could seem cold. Joseph Millson, meanwhile, is fascinatingly evasive as the wronged husband, cunningly testing his wife and best buddy while grimly swallowing his pride.

John Nathan, Metro: The excellent Carroll conveys these emotional milestones with clarity - the hollowed aftermath of two break-ups, the giddy abandon of the affair, the carefree innocence back when Emma had nothing to hide. But the men, though both good, are too constant. The simmering anger of Joseph Millson's Robert is there from end to beginning, as is Jerry's sangfroid.

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