Pinter's power play is a real classic
7:00am Monday 9th March 2009 in Search Module
Paul Webster and Jeff Hordley in a scene from The Caretaker
The Caretaker Octagon Theatre IT is all in the pauses, any fan of Pinter will tell you. The Nobel Prize-winning writer, who died at Christmas, was famous for his fractured dialogue, unexpected rhythms of speech, and his obsessive control of pauses.
The Caretaker is a play of dialogue, not action. Not much happens, and there is no moral to walk away with. It is a play about power, and about territory, set in a crumbling, claustrophobic, junk-filled flat. So how can it be quite so enjoyable?
The Octagon’s designer Richard Foxton appears to have raided every junk shop in Lancashire for his set, building up mounds of newspapers and a moat of rubbish that appears to be creeping onto the stage. It’s gloomy and dirty, and yet the first act crackles with wit and energy amongst the trash.
The second act takes a more tragic bent, as the story of Aston (played with ineffable sadness by Matthew Rixon) unfolds, and there is a piece of lighting work designed by Brent Lees that will provide a real talking point after the show — not a claim that can usually be made.
Alongside Rixon is the marvellously vicious Jeff Hordley, playing Mick. The former Emmerdale actor is the embodiment of the violent Cockney wide boy, effectively menacing the others on stage. And as the tramp Davies, Paul Webster shows his Shakespearean training, handling the mind-bending lines with a mastery that sees his character swing from comic to distasteful to outright hateful then broken and lost with never a hint of difficulty.
Mark Babych has done a sterling job directing this production, proving just what a tough act he will be to follow.
Kat Dibbits
Runs until Saturday March 28.
Tickets: £9 to £18.50 from 01204 520661 or at octagonbolton.co.uk
