Pinter at the Pinter

Saw this last night. Slight Ache is the more interesting of the two but both feel like aperitifs without a main course. Well presented but left with a feeling of ‘so what?’

Also there last night and in total agreement.

Having seen all 7 and the Gala, Pinter at the Pinter has been a theatrical highlight and something that is unlikely to be repeated.

A privilege to see these one act plays staged, so many standout performances by a stellar cast.

A Slight Ache opens proceedings.

2hrs with a 20 minute interval between the plays, out for about 9:30

Im going to 7 on 14th. Missed out on the gala due to logistics. I think its been an incredible venture that ought to get a special Olivier Award.

Couldn't agree more. Jamie Lloyd really achieved something special with this series of plays. Seeing the seven of these has been my theatrical highlight of the last year (along with the revamped "Company").

Saw Pinter Seven tonight, and both "A Slight Ache" and "The Dumb Waiter" are brilliantly presented and performed, with each echoing the other in multiple useful ways. I do prefer "The Dumb Waiter" as it's just as dark and psychological as "A Slight Ache," but also manages to generate more frequent and escalating laughter.

Some spoilers follow. . .

One thing Lloyd has succeeded in doing in this series is pairing plays with similar elements and themes. Here, both plays are two handers, and both plays feature an unseen tormentor. Indeed, it may even be the same tormentor, as the mysterious matches that are dropped on Martin Freeman's dumb waiter could easily be the silent match seller of "A Slight Ache!" In both plays, the identities of the characters define their response to the torments inflicted.

John Heffernan is in his wheelhouse in "A Slight Ache," projecting deep and twisted fears onto a stranger (the mysterious match seller) while attempting to maintain a civil demeanour. Fear and civility are natural enemies, but Heffernan has always exquisitely embodied both, and here, escalates his internal battle to magnificent heights.

Gemma Whelan, adopting a more regal accent than the Queen of England, as Heffernan's wife, like Tamsin Greig in "Landscape," devolves into projecting her sexual fantasies onto the match seller, and the effect this has on Heffernan is a thrill to behold.

I'd give this strange inexplicable play four stars.

"The Dumb Waiter" is just as psychological and character-based, but the character frisson is more exquisitely realised, the comic elements more emphasised, and the plot more satisfyingly resolved.

Martin Freeman starts off with his usual and invaluable comic trope of fidgeting in a way that is both an expression of fear and a cry for attention. It is by not revealing which motivation is dominant that Freeman always gets a laugh out of this. As the plot takes a hilarious and absurd turn, Freeman Basil Fawlties with the best of them, and is supremely funny.

Danny Dyer is just as funny, and even more touching. Initially, as Freeman's hard as nails, monosyllabic boss, Dyer comes off like Rupert Graves in "The Room." But as the play goes on, it's the way that Dyer injects his awkward childhood self into this hard man part that really makes the character soar. By the end, you know the truth of the saying, "show me a child of seven and I"ll show you the man" as Dyer shows us both.

Pitch perfect comedy from both Freeman and Dyer makes for a superlative conclusion to Jamie Lloyd's superb Pinter series.

5 stars from me.

Nice feature on Danny Dyer in tonight’s Standard . Just saying...

The Heff has a skill, much like SRB where he doesn't necessarily do anything different across performances, but I find him sincere, engaging and watchable.

I am also distracted by Ryan's "He's STRAIGHT?" comment whenever I see him.

Saw this tonight (followed by a Lloyd, Dyer, Freeman and Heffernan Q&A) - I think I preferred A Slight Ache marginally more, probably because I’d never seen (or heard it before) and also because I’d seen the Cranham/Blakeley filmed version of Waiter a few months ago at the BFI so it didn’t seem so novel tonight.

Was it just me or did Freeman & Dyer somewhat seem to be channelling their inner Laurel & Hardy into their performance (Freeman as Laurel, Dyer as Hardy)?

Viewed tonight to round off a marathon season.

Two strong plays to finish, both very Pinter. Based on the applause, many of the crowd were there just to see Dyer and Freeman. They delivered, but the subtle performances by Hefferman and Whelan won out.

I experienced this from the £15 Royal Circle standing spots. A winner price wise, although not comfort wise. It was unpleasantly warm. View was good, just suffered with the pillars you get everywhere. Sound was clear. You could lean against the railing (necessary with learners in front). And the whole show is over in two hours.

As always, I’d avoid the back row as it must be uncomfortable with people standing right behind. All the standing spots were taken, with even a few people ignoring the usher and leaning in the middle section.

Glad to have seen all seven volumes.

Saw 7 at the weekend, great end to a great season! Very impressive that Jamie Lloyd has managed to do this in the West End and appeal to a mass audience with it. Got the impression many of the audience around me were there for Freeman and Dyer but they were also very receptive to the more challenging A Slight Ache.

For most of the season I sat in the stalls pillar seats - this time was at the edge of the dress circle which was also £15 - great view from there.

The Pinter foyer is tiny and so is their box office, but the Pinter holds over 800 people on a sold out performance. So any sold out performance at the Pinter has always had mad collection lines stretching all the way round the building. Hamlet, Oslo, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and so on. This and Betrayal will be the same. As will any juggernaut which follows.