Pinter at Playreaders,
June 30, 2006 

Memory can be a tricky thing. How is it that several people can witness the same incident yet have widely different memories of the event? This is what Harold Pinter explores in his 1971 play Old Times. Deeley and Kate, living near the ocean and married for more than 20 years, are visited by Kate’s friend Anna, whom she has not seen for many years. The friends recall old times together in London, and as the evening wanes, not only are their recollections different, it becomes clear that a battle ensues over Kate. To whom will Kate be loyal—to her husband, her old friend or to herself?
One reviewer writes, “In this darkly erotic drama, set around a triangular power-struggle, the past becomes present.”

Pinter was a teenager when England was bombed in WWII, and it caused him to abhor all war. He explores in his plays the violence, hostility, the need to conquer, and the desire for possession that exists in human relationships, the microcosm that writ large becomes the relationships between nations. When Pinter delivered his speech in Oslo in 2005 for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, he took the occasion to talk about his writing and drama, but primarily his speech was about the United States’ involvement in Iraq, a war he strongly opposes.

Pinter’s particular way of writing dialogue has been dubbed “pinteresque” because of his predilection for the short sentence, the non sequitur, questions asked that are not answered. The author responds by saying that he simply attempts in dialogue to reproduce what people do when they speak to one another.

Pinter opposes the idea of telling the audience how to think or what to think. Instead, he provides a scenario that raises questions, allowing the audience to interpret and to reach conclusions themselves. In that sense, he believes drama should be an interactive rather than a passive theater experience. 

Old Times will be performed on Wednesday, July 5, and Thursday, July 6, at St. Paul’s Parish Hall on calle Cardo 6. Kate is read by Britt Zaist, Deeley is read by Henry Vermillion, and Anna is read by Billie Bremer. Dic Simandl handles sound and lights, and Bobbie Bell directs. The play begins at 7:30pm or sooner if the audience fills. A donation of 10 pesos is requested.

Playreaders perform Old Times
Wednesday & Thursday, July 5 & 6, 7:30pm, St. Paul’s Church, Cardo 6, 10 pesos