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The Hothouse
By Harold Pinter
Directed by Dado
At A Red Orchid Theatre
1531 N. Wells
Chicago, IL
Call 312-943-8722, tickets $14 - $16 - $20
Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM
Sundays at 7 PM
Running time is 2 hours with intermission
Through December 17, 2006
Early Pinter play sizzles with wit, humor and horror
A Red Orchid Theatre is know for “intense, emotionally searing performances that highlight the poetry of life on the edge.” Their intimate 70 seat venue adds passion to their provocative productions. You always get an intense experience there. Their latest, Pinter’s 1958 play, The Hothouse (not performed until 1980) is another in-your-face emotionally wrenching work filled with humor, wit and horror by an outstanding cast. This is fabulous theatre.
This is early Pinter that is filled with his absurdist tendencies that find him using farcical extreme characters going over the top to launch enough humor that eventually points to the absurd reality of both the human condition and our social order. Here Pinter uses the staff of a government institution, a hospital for mental patients or for citizens in need of conditioning to attack the creeping control of government toward their citizens. When one patient comes up dead and another gives birth, the management gets excited and demands a scapegoat. The investigation unhinges the staff and inmates causing unrest that leads to an unraveling of the place.
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The leader, Roote (Troy West in a smart, riveting and funny performance) becomes exasperated at the events on Christmas Eve as he chides his assistant Gibbs (Daniel Rivkib in a subdued and effective turn) to find out who get patient # 6457 pregnant. We meet Lamb (Brian R. Dongarra, a naively compelling performance) as he explains his role as a security guard to the sexy and dominating Miss Cutts (Jennifer Engstrom all sensual and biting convincing). Add the terrific elocution from Steve Walker’s Lush, who lands a terrific manic and funny monologue, and we have the delicious lyrical language that Pinter penned to inflict much pain and horror on his characters while giving us much bitingly funny moments. This is pure “Pinterwsque” – depicting the breakdown of the social order with elliptical, odd, ambiguous language that stings and hurts humorously until it turns out to cause pain. Stay with the early scenes until you catch on to Pinter’s style and purpose, then the word play will carry weight. One you ‘tune-in’ to Pinter, he delivers.
A Red Orchid’s set (Grant Sabin designer) looks like a mental hospital and the eerie sound effects (by Joseph Fosco) with Matthew Gawryk’s smart lighting gave director Dado much to underscore her brilliant cast who all seemed at ease with Pinter’s script. Troy West anchors the show with his fine work that is aided by Steve Walker, Brian R. Dongarra, Daniel Rivkin and Jennifer Engstrom who each landed their scenes with deft aplomb.
Harold Pinter’s seldom performed early work, The Hothouse, is a dazzling evening of theatre that will make you laugh until it creeps you out with its cautionary message. Once more the power of the live stage, especially in an intimate setting with terrific actors, reaches us emotionally as it warns us against the power bureaucracies to control our lives. The force of Pinter’s language dominates. The Hothouse is a magnificent and timely play, don’t miss it!
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2006
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