The Jamie Lloyd Company presents The Lover/The Collection, starring David Suchet, at the Harold Pinter Theatre as part of its complete season of one-act plays by the Nobel Prize-winning British writer Harold Pinter. Celebrating the legacy of the “most influential, provocative and poetic dramatist of his generation” (The Guardian) on the 10th anniversary of his death, this duo of plays runs from 13 September 2018 until 20 October 2018 and promises an unforgettable theatrical experience.
Directed by “major Pinter interpreter” (Financial Times), Jamie Lloyd, these two plays are miniature comedic masterpieces from the 1960s. The Lover and The Collection explore secrets, lies and seduction and are playful and provocative pieces. Menace often disguises itself as wit in The Lover, the tale of a conventional, suburban couple in unconventional circumstances. Hailed as one of the most outstanding plays of the 20th Century by Laurence Olivier, The Collection is funny, tense, and packed with menace, undeniably one of Pater’s comedic triumphs.
A special pre-show charity performance of Pinter’s Nobel Lecture Art, Truth and Politics will be performed by Mark Rylance at 6pm Thursday 4 October in aid of Stop the War.
The cast includes David Suchet, a treasured television favourite known for his role as Hercule Poirot in ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’. He appeared as the Belgian detective in 70 episodes until 2013 when the series ended. Suchet’s extensive theatre credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and All My Sons.
Joining him are John Macmillan, Hayley Squires and Russell Tovey.
About the Pinter at the Pinter Season
The Jamie Lloyd Company presents a complete season of Harold Pinter's one-act plays to celebrate the legacy of the Nobel Prize-winning British writer on the 10th anniversary of his death. This unique theatrical event will play at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 6 September 2018 to 23 February 2019, and promises an unforgettable celebration of the "most influential, provocative and poetic dramatist of his generation" (The Guardian).
About the Pinter at the Pinter season:
The Lover:
The Lover is revealing and provocative. A husband politely asks if his wife's lover will be coming today. She confirms that he will be and it is agreed that the husband shouldn’t return before six, during which time he will visit a prostitute. When the lover does come, he is the husband and his wife is the mistress. The lover is weary of his mistress and the wife remains disturbed by this news, confronting her husband when he returns. Suddenly the husband is not quite husband, he blurs into the lover, and the wife must seduce him now as wife, not as mistress.
The Collection:
This extraordinary play analyses the subtle ways that the English exploit and manipulate each other. Stella tells her husband that while out of town at a fashion show in Leeds she slept with Bill, a young designer. The husband, James, sets out to squeeze a confession out of Bill. Initially, Bill denies everything, then changes his mind and elaborates on his tryst with Lisa. Harry, Bill’s rich protector meanwhile goes and talks to Stella, who denies everything and accuses James of making it up. Hilarious, nail-biting, and packed with menace, this is one of Pinter’s comedic triumphs.
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Find out more about the venue for your show: Directions, Transport options and facilities.
(3mins) Take Coventry Street up to Oxendon Road; the theatre is 100 metres along on the right.