In Harold Pinter’s 1974 play NO MAN’S LAND two men in their sixties,one, Hirst, a distinguished man of letters, the other, Spooner, a failed poet, have been drinking in a London pub. Hirst is a man of means whilst Spooner is impoverished. Hirst invites Spooner back to his plush abode for more drinks and chat, and as the evening wears on they become more and more inebriated and fuzzier in their communication. The audience also learns that in his grand house Hirst lives with two young minders, Foster and Briggs.
This Pinter play, running at just over 90 minutes without interval, is a bleak, penetrating night of theatre laced with dark humour. It’s about many things…about memory or as the play’s director Michael Gow so eloquently put it, ‘about the nightmare of remembering and forgetting’…it’s about Hirst’s and Spooner’s love of language exemplified in this dialogue: ‘Hirst: Tonight, my friend, you find me in the last lap of a race I had long forgotten to run, to which Spooner replies: ‘A metaphor. Things are looking up’- drawing laughter from the audience…it’s about danger and menace-there’s a scene, lasting some moments, where the theatre is plunged into darkness…it’s about alcoholism… about the horror of ageing and having to confront one’s inevitable demise. Barry Johnson in the ‘Oregon Arts Watch’ described it well when he said Pinter’s characters in NO MAN’S LAND lived ‘in a half light, limited by the deficiencies of their heads, hearts and bodies’.
Michael Gow’s production is outstanding. His creatives shape the evening well; Robert Kemp’s imposing set with its emphasis on books and alcohol, Nick Schlieper’s atmospheric lighting and Tony Brumpton’s eerie score.
John Gaden as Hirst and Peter Carroll as Spooner , two veterans of the Australian stage, give masterly performances. Their characters are well contrasted; intriguingly whilst Spooner lives on the breadline he’s the more positive and sprited of the pair.They are supported well by two impressive young actors, Steven Rooke and Andrew Buchanan as Hirst’s guardians, Foster and Briggs.
A joint Sydney Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company production, NO MAN’S LAND opened at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House on Tuesday November 1 and runs until Sunday December 11, 2011.
(c) David Kary
3rd November, 2011
Tags: SYDNEY PLAY OF THE WEEK, NO MAN’S LAND, Harold Pinter, Queensland Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Michael Gow, Peter Carroll, John Gaden, Steven Rooke, Andrew Buchanan, Robert Kemp, Nick Schlieper, Tony Brumpton, Rob Maccoll
