Ben Addis has been yearning to be in a production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal for 15 years and will get his wish when the play opens at Derby Theatre.
He was 17 when the celebrated playwright first made an impression on the budding actor and 21 when Addis directed a Pinter play. From that moment, he wanted to feature in a stage production of Betrayal, Pinter’s story of marital infidelity and deceit.
He said, “when I was studying theatre at A Level at my local college, I had to find things to do as a monologue. I’d seen Michael Sheen doing The Homecoming on TV and started reading some Pinter plays.
“From that moment, I’ve been fascinated by Pinter—the rhythm, the language and as a teenager I also appreciated the darkness. I love the worlds he creates where people hold back a lot and don’t actually come out with what they’re thinking.
“At university, I directed a couple of short Pinter pieces and read Betrayal for the first time. I wanted to be in it but I’ve always been too young. Now, as my wife kindly points out, I’m exactly the right age. I finally have the opportunity and it was one I simply couldn’t miss.”
Addis plays Robert, who is betrayed by his wife Emma, who has an affair with her husband’s friend Jerry.
“There are so many betrayals going on that I tried to make a list at one point—the title is well chosen. I think all audiences can relate to it.”
Addis, who played journalist Robert Fraser in Hattie Naylor’s adaptation of Sarah Waters’s The Night Watch at Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 2016, said Betrayal “has stood the test of time as it’s such a brilliantly constructed piece.
“Few people can match up to the economy of Pinter’s writing—it’s short and sharp and each word is so carefully chosen.
“We didn’t want to do a standard revival of Betrayal as that has been done so many times. We didn’t want to put the play back on in a straight way for its own sake—we wanted to do something a bit more in depth, something different.
“I think we have some interesting ideas of how to present this story. I simply couldn’t wait to get into rehearsals to see what we could do.”
The cast also includes Philip Correia (Jerry), Kemi-Bo Jacobs (Emma) and Matthew Curnier (waiter).
Lekan Lawal, resident assistant director at Derby Theatre as part of the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme, directs. Design is by Neil Irish, lighting design by Arnim Friess and sound design by Paul Arditti.
Betrayal runs at Derby Theatre from Friday 17 March until Saturday 1 April (press night Tuesday 21 March).