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After a six year absence from the London stage, this classic early Pinter play makes a welcome return in Lindsay Posner's outstanding new production. The Birthday Party is a 1950s masterpiece and, in this age of the "Nanny State," it remains a subtle yet very poignant exposition of a man driven insane by the pressure to conform.
Stanley, a musician, has hidden himself away in a seaside guesthouse; he's desperate to play music again but fearful of how society will receive him. At the same time his rather infantilised landlady Meg has become besotted with him to the point of, at times, appearing sexually attracted to her guest. While this is going on her husband Petey has invited two more men to stay at their lodgings after meeting them on the beach.
These men - McCann and Goldberg - initially appear to be normal guests but their motive is soon revealed to be much more sinister; the audience soon discovers that they are in fact members of a mysterious organisation with plans to persecute and torment Stanley for behaviour they deem degenerate. Sadistically, they conspire to host a party for Stan's birthday; an evening that soon becomes a bitter and emotional experience as they gradually break the man down.
This new production is a triumph of British theatre featuring a drab and depressing set that is superbly representative of a less materialistic by-gone era and some startling performances. As Meg, Dame Eileen Atkins is unsurprisingly excellent, her performance managing to be reminiscent of both Sybil Fawlty and yet also contain something of Ophelia. Initially desperately funny as the fussing landlady, as she dons her peppermint lace dress and frolics around the guests at the party, she reveals an unnerving and slightly insane side to her character.
Henry Goodman is equally stimulating as the enigmatic Goldberg. His hardened 'organisation' persona is frighteningly strong and the audience feels real discomfort as he credibly torments Stanley. Goodman also succeeds in turning Goldberg into the complex character that Pinter intended and his growing panic and loss of control is strongly portrayed.
The characters of Goldberg and McCann provide a powerful representation of bureaucratic injustice and the shadowy suppression of independent thought and individuality. Goodman's performance, in particular, honours these allusions and presents them with real power.
These two stars of the stage are given strong support by the talented Finbar Lynch (who was so excellent as Polymestor in the Donmar's recent Hecuba.) He is equally convincing in his portrayal of the former Irish priest McCann. There is a looming menace in his performance that one keeps waiting to see fully unleashed and yet, along with Goodman, he stills creates a sense of believable vulnerability in his character, rendering him into a real person rather than just a walking political metaphor.
In addition Sinead Matthews gives the role of Lulu an appealing quality of youthfulness and innocence. Her performance gives the character a believable dimness; unaware of Stanley's obsession with her, she becomes the victim of Goldberg's sexual machinations.
This is a play that initially gives its characters a strong sense of identity and yet, as the play progresses, allows the audience's opinions to alter as their personas and situations change. As Stanley, Paul Ritter is both captivating and somewhat disturbing in his portrayal of the maltreated man. He presents his character's madness on the stage in an unnerving and far too realistic fashion, evoking abhorrence for his tormentors but also subtly generating a profound sense of guilt and complicity in the audience. Posner has created a comic yet troubling production performed with an intense and satisfying understanding of Pinter's intentions.
BUY THE PLAY: The Birthday Party
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