BETRAYAL

Globe’s well-acted Betrayal an intriguing puzzle
Karen Carpenter deftly manages Pinter’s challenging, minimalist script. Although “Betrayal” was written for proscenium stage, Carpenter chose to stage it in the Globe’s theater-in-the-round, giving you far more intimacy with the characters in this strange love triangle. Carpenter also brings out a surprising level of humor. With her well-chosen cast she builds multidimensional characters who morph continually before your eyes. Engaging and entertaining at every turn, Carpenter’s production is a nice opening act for the season.
-Pam Kragen, North County Times

Director Karen Carpenter keeps this tight, engrossing production within the strict boundaries of the oblique Pinter style, with full faith and credit given to those many stage directions of “pause” and “silence” that pepper his scripts. Indeed, Carpenter and her cast prolong those patented Pinter pregnant pauses well into their third trimesters, and the silences are deafening. But, as it should be, it is precisely during those pauses that the true feelings of Pinter’s evasive, glib characters seem to show through the chinks in their personality armor. Ingeniously elegant.
-George Weinberg-Harter, Backstage West

So exquisitely wrought that even the signature Pinter pauses are fraught with detail. Carpenter has the theatrical know-how and directing chops to be a real asset to the Globe. The actors’ performances are splendid, just as highly polished and meticulous as the production. The surprises here tucked away in Pinter’s nine scenes are sweets that melt on the minds tongue, leaving one to ponder the bitter taste of glittering, now completely self-involved lives.
-Charlene Baldridge, Gay & Lesbian Times

Directing a Harold Pinter play in the round is a tough assignment. Karen Carpenter shows her mettle with just such a challenge. Her staging of Betrayal in the intimate Carter manages to keep matters engrossing without devising any artificial movements. Scenic designers often say that you should be able to look at a set and understand the play, and this set succeeds admirably. At the beginning, a giant wooden cube rests in the center of a hardwood floor. The cast proceeds to disassemble it like a puzzle, with each piece becoming a geometric piece of furniture. It perfectly illustrates what’s to come, the systematic dismantling of all the relationships.
-Don Braunagel, L.A. Times