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Betrayal: A Play
Betrayal is Pinter's latest full-length play since the enormous success of No Man's Land . The play begins in 1977, with a meeting between adulterous lovers, Emma and Jerry, two years after their affair has ended. During the nine scenes of the play, we move back in time, through the states of their affair, with the play ending in the house of Emma and Robert, her husband, who is Jerry's best friend.The classic dramatic scenario of the love triangle is manifest in a mediation on the themes of marital infidelity, duplicity, and self-deception. Pinter writes a world that simultaneously glorifies and debases love.
138 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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About the author
Harold Pinter
394 books777 followersHarold Pinter was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964) and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993) and Sleuth (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 531 reviews
July 9, 2019
Seeing Tom Hiddleston play the part of Robert while I was in London was one of the highlights of my Europe trip. This was a great play and a reminder to self that I should watch and read more plays.
October 6, 2017
خیلی دوست داشتم و خوشحالم بعد از چند سال که دوست داشتم بخونمش بالاخره موقعیتش رو پیدا کردم!
July 13, 2014
This probably works better on the stage than it does on the page. Frankly, I was disappointed.
True to its title, Betrayal is a story about betrayal and deception. The play is centered on three people: Emma, Robert, and Jerry. Emma, who is married to Robert, has had a long-term affair with Robert's best friend Jerry. The opening scene is of Emma and Jerry meeting for a drink two years after their affair has ended. The play then works its way chronologically backwards in time, feeding us more details of their tangled relationships with each new scene.
The play provides a perspective into the way in which we might betray and deceive others, as well as the way in which we might betray and deceive ourselves. I thought it was an interesting look at the attempt to hold onto relationships even though they might not fulfill us or make us happy. Fear of change? Habit? Routine? Boredom? It was interesting watching the characters stumble through their relationships, sometimes as if on automatic pilot.
The best aspect of the play was in how it was structured: in reverse order from the end of the affair to the very beginning. I thought that was truly well done. In fact, what I found so interesting was how the characterizations were developed. By providing you with the ending first, the author allows you to make judgments about these characters, then challenges those judgments by providing more and more insight into their past.
Still, despite these interesting elements, I thought that overall the story was unremarkable.
Final Rating: 3 stars
True to its title, Betrayal is a story about betrayal and deception. The play is centered on three people: Emma, Robert, and Jerry. Emma, who is married to Robert, has had a long-term affair with Robert's best friend Jerry. The opening scene is of Emma and Jerry meeting for a drink two years after their affair has ended. The play then works its way chronologically backwards in time, feeding us more details of their tangled relationships with each new scene.
The play provides a perspective into the way in which we might betray and deceive others, as well as the way in which we might betray and deceive ourselves. I thought it was an interesting look at the attempt to hold onto relationships even though they might not fulfill us or make us happy. Fear of change? Habit? Routine? Boredom? It was interesting watching the characters stumble through their relationships, sometimes as if on automatic pilot.
The best aspect of the play was in how it was structured: in reverse order from the end of the affair to the very beginning. I thought that was truly well done. In fact, what I found so interesting was how the characterizations were developed. By providing you with the ending first, the author allows you to make judgments about these characters, then challenges those judgments by providing more and more insight into their past.
Still, despite these interesting elements, I thought that overall the story was unremarkable.
Final Rating: 3 stars
October 27, 2020
When I heard that Betrayal was going to be the first socially distanced play at the Theatre Royal, I dug out the book to remind myself why it remains one of Harold Pinter's most beloved and performed plays.
Sure, not having a packed auditorium just isn't the same, but with excellent Covid-safe measures put into place, I'm just pleased to see the theatre open again. The cast was great, especially Nancy Carroll.
Sure, not having a packed auditorium just isn't the same, but with excellent Covid-safe measures put into place, I'm just pleased to see the theatre open again. The cast was great, especially Nancy Carroll.
September 6, 2017
اولين اثر از اين نويسنده بود كه داشتم ميخوندم
و بينهايت دوسش داشتم
داستان زيبايي داشت
عكس العمل هاي شخصيت ها موقع شنيدن خيانت برام خيلي جالب بود
كاش جهان ما هم كمي تغيير ميكرد
كاش اين و درك كنيم كه همه آزاديم چه زن ،چه مرد!!
و بينهايت دوسش داشتم
داستان زيبايي داشت
عكس العمل هاي شخصيت ها موقع شنيدن خيانت برام خيلي جالب بود
كاش جهان ما هم كمي تغيير ميكرد
كاش اين و درك كنيم كه همه آزاديم چه زن ،چه مرد!!
August 25, 2017
Well, it’s nice, sometimes, to think back. Isn’t it?
September 17, 2020
وقتی توی غلتک نمایشنامه خوندن میفتی، انگار ذره ذره اعتیادت به این چرخش بیشتر میشه و دلت میخواد بیشتر بخونی.
خیلی خیلی خوب بود. از قشنگی های نمایشنامه ی خوب خوندن، کشش داستانه؛ اینکه یکبار کتاب رو دستت میگیری، و فقط با پایانش میتونی زمین بگذاریش... و به نظرم برای یه کتابخون، این اتفاق از دلچسب ترین هاست.
خیانت، روایت جذابی از خیانت بود.
از عشقی که شعله ور میشه و شاید منطق و عقل رو در خودش میبلعه. میدونی؟ هرچقدر هم بگیم و تکرار کنیم خودت باید خودت رو دوست داشته باشی مهم نیست، ما محتاجیم به عشق... ما محتاجیم به اینکه یک نفر زیبایی های کوچیک شخصیتمون رو ببینه و برجسته شون کنه، ما محتاجیم به دوست داشتن و دوست داشته شدن...
به وقت بیست و ششم شهریور نود و نه
خیلی خیلی خوب بود. از قشنگی های نمایشنامه ی خوب خوندن، کشش داستانه؛ اینکه یکبار کتاب رو دستت میگیری، و فقط با پایانش میتونی زمین بگذاریش... و به نظرم برای یه کتابخون، این اتفاق از دلچسب ترین هاست.
خیانت، روایت جذابی از خیانت بود.
از عشقی که شعله ور میشه و شاید منطق و عقل رو در خودش میبلعه. میدونی؟ هرچقدر هم بگیم و تکرار کنیم خودت باید خودت رو دوست داشته باشی مهم نیست، ما محتاجیم به عشق... ما محتاجیم به اینکه یک نفر زیبایی های کوچیک شخصیتمون رو ببینه و برجسته شون کنه، ما محتاجیم به دوست داشتن و دوست داشته شدن...
به وقت بیست و ششم شهریور نود و نه
December 12, 2022
The ripple effect of infidelity on two families is masterfully examined in this taut play. Emma and Robert start their affair by finding ways to meet during the day; they are both married and must be home by evening. Eventually they get a flat where they are able to spend time alone - afternoons spent in a dreamy world that will never be. Harold Pinter traces the arc of their affair; from the beginning to the end. The line between 'wanting' and 'desire' is explored in a very non linear way that allows the audience (reader) to be the proverbial 'fly on the wall' as they both realize the true cost of their affair. In the end there is a Prufrockian acceptance of the way things are - and the cost that choice always forces us to pay.
April 3, 2025
The characters in The Betrayal display a detached, almost resigned attitude toward their own betrayals. This cool, understated tension makes the play unsettling. Instead of explosive confrontations, there’s silence, subtext, and a passive acceptance of infidelity and dishonesty. Their actions—or inaction—do the talking.
This emotional restraint can feel unnatural; in real life, affairs usually lead to anger, guilt, or at least a serious conversation. But it also eerily reflects how some people handle betrayal—by pretending it doesn’t matter or refusing to acknowledge the pain. The Betrayal isn’t aiming for realism in that sense. Instead, it suggests that deception is everywhere, emotions are often hidden, and sometimes betrayal lingers unspoken, filling the spaces between people.
Pinter’s style leaves much unsaid, making it unclear whether Emma truly loved Jerry or if he was simply an escape from her marriage. She may have cared for both men in different ways, or the affair may have been her attempt to assert autonomy in a world where her role as wife and mother was predefined.
From a woman’s perspective, I interpreted The Betrayal as more than a love triangle. It’s about how women navigate relationships in a world where power is quietly held by men. Emma is neither victim nor villain; she is someone searching for happiness in a system designed to limit her choices—and failing to find it.
In some ways, I wanted more—more of everything!
The Betrayal leaves much open to interpretation, and I would love to see it performed—especially the production starring Tom Hiddleston.
This emotional restraint can feel unnatural; in real life, affairs usually lead to anger, guilt, or at least a serious conversation. But it also eerily reflects how some people handle betrayal—by pretending it doesn’t matter or refusing to acknowledge the pain. The Betrayal isn’t aiming for realism in that sense. Instead, it suggests that deception is everywhere, emotions are often hidden, and sometimes betrayal lingers unspoken, filling the spaces between people.
Pinter’s style leaves much unsaid, making it unclear whether Emma truly loved Jerry or if he was simply an escape from her marriage. She may have cared for both men in different ways, or the affair may have been her attempt to assert autonomy in a world where her role as wife and mother was predefined.
From a woman’s perspective, I interpreted The Betrayal as more than a love triangle. It’s about how women navigate relationships in a world where power is quietly held by men. Emma is neither victim nor villain; she is someone searching for happiness in a system designed to limit her choices—and failing to find it.
In some ways, I wanted more—more of everything!
The Betrayal leaves much open to interpretation, and I would love to see it performed—especially the production starring Tom Hiddleston.
April 29, 2020
داستان بسیار جذاب و پرکششی داشت که رو به گذشته و از انتها به ابتدا تعریف شد. یکسره خوندمش و لذت بردم.
May 23, 2018
ماجرای خیانت روندی معکوس را طی میکند و در آخر به شب اول خیانت برمی گردد. 《خیانت》تنشی است که تمام داستان را به ارتعاش در می آورد. بنظرم پینتر سعی کرده جزئیات و احساسات درونی نقش ها را بیان کند تا خواننده در مقام قاضی قرار گیرد و با تجزیه تحلیلی که میکند، خوب و بد را خود، تشخیص دهد. در کل تجربه اول خوبی از این نویسنده بود.
August 14, 2024
I have boyfriend-in-my head Tom Hiddleston (and Charlie Cox) to thank for reading this play. RTC.
Plot summary: Robert is married to Emma, and they have 2 children. Jerry is Robert’s best friend. Jerry and Emma have been having an affair for 7 years. Jerry is also married to a woman named Judith and they have 2 children. MESSY.
The play opens with Jerry and Emma meeting up a couple of years after they’ve ended their affair. Jerry later finds out that Robert had known about the affair for FOUR years. Then, the play goes backwards: we see Robert and Emma's marriage, Jerry and Robert's friendship and Emma and Jerry's "entanglement" with it ending with Jerry and Emma’s first kiss.
With the exception of Judith, everyone in this play was horrible but it’s so well written and darkly hilarious that it didn’t even bother me that much. Also, when you pick up a play that’s titled “Betrayal” you know what you’re in for 😂
Some funny moments AKA Jerry having THEE audacity for 138 pages straight (again, most of the characters in this book are horrible but he is really SOMETHING)
1. Jerry being hilariously offended that Robert knew about his and Emma's affair for 4 years and never told him. Robert, Emma and Jerry were still hanging out as if Robert had no idea.
2. Jerry telling Emma (his mistress) that he thinks that his wife Judith might be cheating on him.... this conversation takes place in his and Emma's love nest by the way.
3. Jerry being sulky that Emma still sleeps with her husband and that he got her pregnant.
Plot summary: Robert is married to Emma, and they have 2 children. Jerry is Robert’s best friend. Jerry and Emma have been having an affair for 7 years. Jerry is also married to a woman named Judith and they have 2 children. MESSY.
The play opens with Jerry and Emma meeting up a couple of years after they’ve ended their affair. Jerry later finds out that Robert had known about the affair for FOUR years. Then, the play goes backwards: we see Robert and Emma's marriage, Jerry and Robert's friendship and Emma and Jerry's "entanglement" with it ending with Jerry and Emma’s first kiss.
With the exception of Judith, everyone in this play was horrible but it’s so well written and darkly hilarious that it didn’t even bother me that much. Also, when you pick up a play that’s titled “Betrayal” you know what you’re in for 😂
Some funny moments AKA Jerry having THEE audacity for 138 pages straight (again, most of the characters in this book are horrible but he is really SOMETHING)
1. Jerry being hilariously offended that Robert knew about his and Emma's affair for 4 years and never told him. Robert, Emma and Jerry were still hanging out as if Robert had no idea.
2. Jerry telling Emma (his mistress) that he thinks that his wife Judith might be cheating on him.... this conversation takes place in his and Emma's love nest by the way.
3. Jerry being sulky that Emma still sleeps with her husband and that he got her pregnant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2017
From theconversation.com:
The word ruling this play is “when”. When did Jerry know that Emma had told Robert, her husband, of their affair? When did Emma know that Robert knew, and decide not to tell Jerry, but continue it? When did Jerry decide he would not leave Judith, his wife, and was this the catalyst for Emma to say, while pregnant with her son, Ned, that Robert was the father, not Jerry?
When was the moment of real betrayal? When Jerry drunkenly declared undying love to his best friend’s wife behind his best friend’s back? When Emma responded? When they slept together for the first time? When they carried on sleeping with their marriage partners?
Scene four: drinks at Robert and Emma’s; Emma offstage, with Ned, Jerry and Robert onstage, talking. What we don’t see, but will see later, is that Robert knows about the affair, and Emma knows he knows. What we don’t see, and will never see, is what this means exactly, because she has not given him up, and Robert tolerates this, and so does she – Robert knowing, Jerry not knowing he knows.
Casually Jerry says he will be taking a trip to America. He has not told Emma, and when he leaves it is clear this is devastating news for her. She then turns to Robert for … what? Punishment? Pity? Comfort? Is it possible – that a wife would turn to her husband for solace when her lover casts her off
And:
And a betrayal to the self. For admiting i dont love u anymore is much harder. Even when Emma is giving Jerry the news of her pregnancy she is yearning for a new start but cant say it out loud. And can Robert be also betraying his insticts when he says i preferred to be in a relationship with Jerry myself? And Judith? Living a secret life?
The word ruling this play is “when”. When did Jerry know that Emma had told Robert, her husband, of their affair? When did Emma know that Robert knew, and decide not to tell Jerry, but continue it? When did Jerry decide he would not leave Judith, his wife, and was this the catalyst for Emma to say, while pregnant with her son, Ned, that Robert was the father, not Jerry?
When was the moment of real betrayal? When Jerry drunkenly declared undying love to his best friend’s wife behind his best friend’s back? When Emma responded? When they slept together for the first time? When they carried on sleeping with their marriage partners?
Scene four: drinks at Robert and Emma’s; Emma offstage, with Ned, Jerry and Robert onstage, talking. What we don’t see, but will see later, is that Robert knows about the affair, and Emma knows he knows. What we don’t see, and will never see, is what this means exactly, because she has not given him up, and Robert tolerates this, and so does she – Robert knowing, Jerry not knowing he knows.
Casually Jerry says he will be taking a trip to America. He has not told Emma, and when he leaves it is clear this is devastating news for her. She then turns to Robert for … what? Punishment? Pity? Comfort? Is it possible – that a wife would turn to her husband for solace when her lover casts her off
And:
And a betrayal to the self. For admiting i dont love u anymore is much harder. Even when Emma is giving Jerry the news of her pregnancy she is yearning for a new start but cant say it out loud. And can Robert be also betraying his insticts when he says i preferred to be in a relationship with Jerry myself? And Judith? Living a secret life?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2020
ایده جالبی برای توصیف خیانت داشت.
نمایشنامه درواقع از آخر به اول میره. از لحظه تموم شدن یک رابطه عاشقانه اما خیانت بار شروع میشه و تا لحظه اولین خیانت تو چند سال قبل تموم میشه.
خیلی زود خوندمش. لذت بردم.
نمایشنامه درواقع از آخر به اول میره. از لحظه تموم شدن یک رابطه عاشقانه اما خیانت بار شروع میشه و تا لحظه اولین خیانت تو چند سال قبل تموم میشه.
خیلی زود خوندمش. لذت بردم.
December 4, 2024
Another great play by Pinter. I've read a handful of his plays and enjoyed them all. Homecoming and the lover being my personal favourites. 4.2/5
April 20, 2021
Luga par 50% sastāv no "Kā tev iet?" "Normāli. Kā tev?" "Jā. Atceries toreiz?..." "Ko?" "Nu." "Ā. Jā."
Un vienalga ir interesanti, ar labi uzturētu spriedzi.
Un vienalga ir interesanti, ar labi uzturētu spriedzi.
September 14, 2018
بی کم و کاست! اولین و تنها نمایشنامهای که از پینتر خوندم و فقط میتونم بگم بینظیر بود! فرم کلی نمایشنامه شگفتزدهم کرد. داستان از لحاظ زمانی به صورت ریورس اتفاق میفته و حتی در همین حال هم پیوند داره و اگر به تاریخها دقت نکنید اصلا متوجهش نمیشید.
December 6, 2019
I'm going to be honest with ya'll, i didn't get it. Didn't understand the significance and in general what would someone write this.
If i have to look at it in a Brechtian way, yeah it was as pointless as waiting for godot. But if not, i don't even know what it was.
If i have to look at it in a Brechtian way, yeah it was as pointless as waiting for godot. But if not, i don't even know what it was.
December 18, 2014
I actually listened to this as a BBC Radio Drama (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kr71s) that starred Olivia Colman and Andrew Scott. I'd heard he'd won the BBC Audio Drama, Best Actor Award for it, and I liked him from BBC Sherlock so I thought it would be worth listening to.
This is a very interesting and thought provoking play. First of all, it's presented chronologically backwards... We meet the two people who have had an affair after their affair is over, as they are having a discussion over lunch. The woman reveals she has told her husband that she'd cheated on him with the ex-lover, who is his best friend. He's angry because she didn't consult him first, and then we hear his conversation with his friend...
It proceeds from there, slowly revealing various lies the friends/spouses/lovers have told each other over the years and highlights their reactions to the various "betrayals".
It is very thought provoking. I think my favourite moment of the play was when Andrew Scott's character, Jerry,
It was really a great moment, well acted... In a play full of moments worth listening to. Makes you think about all the different lies and different kinds of betrayals we have in daily life.
(Evidently the play was based on the author's real life affair with a famous female BBC broadcaster.)
Edited on December 17th, 2014 on rereading, after realizing I really should have spoiler warnings in several spots. At the time I originally posted I didn't know how to insert them- CRM
This is a very interesting and thought provoking play. First of all, it's presented chronologically backwards... We meet the two people who have had an affair after their affair is over, as they are having a discussion over lunch. The woman reveals she has told her husband that she'd cheated on him with the ex-lover, who is his best friend. He's angry because she didn't consult him first, and then we hear his conversation with his friend...
It proceeds from there, slowly revealing various lies the friends/spouses/lovers have told each other over the years and highlights their reactions to the various "betrayals".
It is very thought provoking. I think my favourite moment of the play was when Andrew Scott's character, Jerry,
It was really a great moment, well acted... In a play full of moments worth listening to. Makes you think about all the different lies and different kinds of betrayals we have in daily life.
(Evidently the play was based on the author's real life affair with a famous female BBC broadcaster.)
Edited on December 17th, 2014 on rereading, after realizing I really should have spoiler warnings in several spots. At the time I originally posted I didn't know how to insert them- CRM
November 13, 2020
کشش خوبی داشت. نحوهٔ روایت از حال به گذشته هم جالب بود برام. و به نظرم خیلی انسانی و طبیعی بود دیالوگها.
July 30, 2021
"Jesus. I'm not trying to say anything. I've said precisely what I wanted to say."
This particular dialogue captures the very essence of this play. Words can be interpreted in so many different ways and they can mean thousand different things. But that is not for the writer/speaker to explain. They said what they wanted to say. It is the reader/listener who makes it more through their experiences, insecurities, dreams, doubts, aspirations, and guilts. It is upon us to bring a meaning out of it.
Naturally, this is a play about betrayal. What happens when your wife, mother of your two children betrays? Betrays with your best friend? What happens when you trust people with loving you and they toss that trust into a gutter as if it was nothing? Well, we don't know. 'Cause Pinter never shows us that. Rather he takes us into the affair, tells us a story of it in backward. We start with the end of the relationship and end with the beginning.
And in all its glory it shows us a tale that leaves us to decide what is right, who is the wrong one here.
I hope one day, somewhere, someplace I can see it on stage. One day!
May 3, 2020
Betrayal, or I prefer to say “Betrayals” is written on the same theme and subject as the name suggests. In this play, people are not just betraying their lovers and beloveds or even friends; they are at the same time betraying themselves, creating a deceptive reality. It is not easy to say who is the victim in this play. Firstly, we should find who is guilty, and the answer is that everybody is to an extent guilty, so that makes everybody victims, as well. The feeling of lack is the motivation behind all these betrayals and deceptions, so all the characters hide themselves behind masks and play this game of betrayal. Emma lacks the love of her husband, or maybe she is not satisfied with it, so she turns to Jerry being once again disillusioned, and she starts another relationship with Casey. We cannot blame Robert for Emma’s feeling of incompleteness, but we should blame him for putting up with the affair and living along with it, betraying himself, his wife, and his friend by being indifferent (not to mention that he was also having an affair). This play is full of ambiguities and unanswered questions and the audience is not presented with the dramatic irony, so it is difficult to judge the characters without putting one’s self in their shoes and playing along. For me, Jerry’s motivation for starting the relationship is of the same vagueness. It can be both lust and jealousy, or fear of losing a dear friend since Emma has appeared as the wife of Robert. Jerry is also committing the same mistake of Robert; indifference to his wife, and it is funny that he cares for his reputation regarding Robert, not his wife, so this may illustrate that he cares more for his friendship than his wife (his wife is also seeing someone). Judith is also guilty. She is not physically present in the scenes, and she is always busy, doing her profession which may show her lack of importance in Jimmy’s life; she is not really trying to communicate with Jerry. Gaps exist in real life and one cannot completely fill them. According to Jacques Lacan, we are in search of the “objet petit a(s)”, but this quest is futile, we never can feel complete the moment we are detached from our mother (Jerry and Robert also refer to the detachment from the womb), so everybody is trapped in this game of wild goose chase to play the culprit and the victim. There is no winning in this game of life. The best way may be accepting these shortcomings and dealing with them. However, the characters in this play are running from reality and denying the truth.
May 9, 2016
Really good stuff! The scenes are told in reverse chronology with the theme being an affair - where Jerry is Robert's best friend, and he has an affair with Robert's wife, Emma. It's not just the plot that makes it, or the subliminal tension of each scene, but the combination of that with the structure and returning motifs throughout the play that really take it to the next level.
August 22, 2018
3.5 כוכבים.
חביב. ריאלי להכאיב. כמו אור פלורסנט לבן שמאיר על ניתוח פתולוגי.
חביב. ריאלי להכאיב. כמו אור פלורסנט לבן שמאיר על ניתוח פתולוגי.
February 10, 2025
Yess I loved this. So simple but so interesting. Going down a Harold Pinter rabbit hole now.
February 11, 2022
i fucking stink at reading plays
April 27, 2023
به دور از ادبیات و انسانیت....
November 20, 2018
There are different kinds of betrayal in this play. The betrayal of friendship,of love,of time, of memory and self-betrayal. There is also adultery and guilt.
Through the play we see Jerry and Emma have embarked on a 7 affair, but the action starts on a date two years after their relationship is over and ends at the party where the spark was first ignited. Emma and Jerry are both married with kids- in fact Jerry was best Man at Emma's wedding-but they are hopelessly drawn to each other,although time is not a good companion to lovers.
Everybody keeps appearances and wears mask. There is a coldness to the play as the characters are icemen/woman. They are not particularly likeable constantly hiding emotions, manking them with intelectual pseudo narcissistic dialogues and making everything uncomfortable around them. I like more reading between the lines, deciphering their silences, what lies beneath their stone-like skins.
I'm not usually into Mr Pinter, but I got curious after some feedback and now I'm eager to watch Jeremy Iron's performance in the 80's movie. It will sure improve my Rating.
Through the play we see Jerry and Emma have embarked on a 7 affair, but the action starts on a date two years after their relationship is over and ends at the party where the spark was first ignited. Emma and Jerry are both married with kids- in fact Jerry was best Man at Emma's wedding-but they are hopelessly drawn to each other,although time is not a good companion to lovers.
Everybody keeps appearances and wears mask. There is a coldness to the play as the characters are icemen/woman. They are not particularly likeable constantly hiding emotions, manking them with intelectual pseudo narcissistic dialogues and making everything uncomfortable around them. I like more reading between the lines, deciphering their silences, what lies beneath their stone-like skins.
I'm not usually into Mr Pinter, but I got curious after some feedback and now I'm eager to watch Jeremy Iron's performance in the 80's movie. It will sure improve my Rating.
February 5, 2010
Betrayal is a play about a woman, Emma, who is cheating on her husband, Robert, with his best friend, Jerry. Ok, so the story's been done before, but Pinter gives it his signature twist and has a way of making the characters very, very uncomfortable.
The structure of the play is unique, as the story is not told in chronological order, but time is scattershot throughout the piece. I would be very interested in seeing this play live, as I don't know how they would let the audience know when the specific events take place.
Pinter gives us the end of the affair between Emma and Jerry first; their first intense meeting last. TSome of the scenes could be very emotional. Pinter leaves a lot of room for the actors to build on and develop. Just reading it probably does not do it justice, as I had problems at times trying to figure out why these two were so drawn to each other. Their relationship seemed at times to be just as sterile and superficial as their marriages. Perhaps that is the point. Definitely one to think about.
The structure of the play is unique, as the story is not told in chronological order, but time is scattershot throughout the piece. I would be very interested in seeing this play live, as I don't know how they would let the audience know when the specific events take place.
Pinter gives us the end of the affair between Emma and Jerry first; their first intense meeting last. TSome of the scenes could be very emotional. Pinter leaves a lot of room for the actors to build on and develop. Just reading it probably does not do it justice, as I had problems at times trying to figure out why these two were so drawn to each other. Their relationship seemed at times to be just as sterile and superficial as their marriages. Perhaps that is the point. Definitely one to think about.
October 8, 2021
پلات کتاب از جهت بازی زمانی برام جالب بود، انگار شخصیتهایی که همه در حال خیانت به دیگری بودن، گذشته و سیر این خیانتها رو مدام و مدام به یاد میاوردن و در زمان به عقب میرفتن تا به یاد بیارن از کجا شروع شد.
اما در مجموع برای من کتاب معمولیای بود.
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من دیگه نمیتونم صبر کنم، من ویرانم، من لت و پارم، شما من رو کور میکنین، شما یه الماسین، الماس منین، من دیگه هیچوقت نمیتونم بخوابم، نه، به من گوش بدین، این حقیقته، من دیگه هیچوقت نمیتونم راه برم، من برای همیشه چلاق شدم، من سقوط میکنم، من چغر میشم، من به کل فلج میشم، زندگی من توی دستهای شماست... و شما دارین من رو به یه جهنم کاتاتونیایی تبعید میکنین، شما میدونین حالت کاتاتونی چه حالتیه میدونین؟ میدونین؟ حالتیه که توش آدم... پادشاه خلائه، پادشاهِ نیستی، پادشاه ِ حرمان. من دوستتون دارم
اما در مجموع برای من کتاب معمولیای بود.
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من دیگه نمیتونم صبر کنم، من ویرانم، من لت و پارم، شما من رو کور میکنین، شما یه الماسین، الماس منین، من دیگه هیچوقت نمیتونم بخوابم، نه، به من گوش بدین، این حقیقته، من دیگه هیچوقت نمیتونم راه برم، من برای همیشه چلاق شدم، من سقوط میکنم، من چغر میشم، من به کل فلج میشم، زندگی من توی دستهای شماست... و شما دارین من رو به یه جهنم کاتاتونیایی تبعید میکنین، شما میدونین حالت کاتاتونی چه حالتیه میدونین؟ میدونین؟ حالتیه که توش آدم... پادشاه خلائه، پادشاهِ نیستی، پادشاه ِ حرمان. من دوستتون دارم
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