The Homecoming

I haven't seen as many plays by Harold Pinter as I would have liked. "The Caretaker", "Old Times" (twice - you would not think it was the same play), "The Dumb Waiter" and the totally brilliant "No Man's Land", and that is all. So when a new production comes on, I make sure I book tickets early. It was just not possible to get into London to see "Betrayal", but "The Homecoming" by the RSC at Stratford was too good to miss.

This is not an easy play to watch, especially if you know nothing of the plot. Even the critics argue about what it all means. It is a dark family drama inhabited by unpleasant characters, who are mostly unpleasant to each other (just like "Eastenders"), so fun it is not. Pinter never revealed the meaning of any of his plays, so it is up to the director, and the audience, to come up with their own interpretation. You cannot take anything anyone says for granted, you have to make your own mind up what is true and what is a lie.

The director, David Farr, has brought in Justin Salinger for his RSC debut as Teddy, and very good he is too. They worked together at the Lyric Theatre's 50th anniversary production of Pinter's "The Birthday Party". Apparently the author left Justin a phone message to say that his performance had changed his view of the play, and Justin has never erased the message. All the cast are terrific, and it is the acting that makes it such a wonderful performance. Nicholas Woodeson shines as the bad tempered father Max, he reminded me a little of Bob Hoskins. Jonathon Slinger and Aislin McGuckin (who played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the play I saw a few weeks ago) were much better in this. David Farr has produced something special, if I had one small concern it was the pauses that litter a Pinter play. There were very few. But that may have made it better.