By BRUCE DENNILL
The Dumb Waiter / Directed by Aidan Scott / Theatre On The Square, Sandton, Johannesburg
Being aware that this play, like many of Harold Pinter’s works, is classified as ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, means that what unfolds on stage feels, perhaps, somewhat less weird than it otherwise might have. Gus (Jock Kleynhans) and Ben (Brent Palmer) are, it soon becomes clear, a couple of hitmen waiting on instructions about their next job. Throw in Cockney accents and the occasional moment of anger, with its potential for violence, and an appropriate contemporary reference (this play was first produced in 1959) is a film by Guy Ritchie. If Ritchie was high on mushrooms…
The pace is, sometimes, glacial. That’s a feature of Theatre of the Absurd (Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot is arguably the most famous example), and it can be uncomfortable to experience, habituated as modern audiences – most of us screen addicts – are to productions and series that pack action into every second. The opening sequence offers one of the best moments in this regard, as Gus focuses on tying his shoelaces in a way that, silently, somehow, speaks volumes about his character. Ben moves less; does less; needs to do less. Similarly, that suggests something about how he chooses to act – taking the lead and emanating authority.
Gus’ nervous energy and Ben’s irritably edginess combine to create a mood that implies that something must happen to burst the bubble of tension. Enter a third character – the dumb waiter linked to a floor above the bare, dirty room in which the two men are waiting. What it delivers – unexpectedly and unpredictably – unsettles the men’s equilibrium, redefining the apprehension they’re feeling individually and collectively.
Stereotypical expectations continue to be not so much confounded as ignored and bemused faces in the audience speak to differing reactions to what is and is not happening and to what each member of the crowd wants to happen – all according to which character they have started to connect to most and how they’d like Gus and/or Ben to come through their assignment.
Whatever the reaction to the ending of the play – it could potentially be interpreted in a number of ways – both cast and director have done a fine job of bringing to life the singular vision of the story’s creator.