With The Homecoming Harold Pinter has us wrapped around his pinky. And for two hours his play, now on stage at the A.C.T. in San Francisco, simultaneously manages to entertain, frustrate, and perplex. In other words, it’s pretty darn magical stuff. It’s also a sharp reminder of the razor-sharp dialog and memorable characters Pinter was capable of penning. I doubt you’ll see any of these dysfunctional personas guest starring on Glee any time soon. I’d die, though, to see Lenny’s father, Max–played at full-on raging bluster by Jack Willis–give it a shot. Singin’ in the Vain!
Leave your sensibilities at the door. This is theater of the absurd. And unlike the purely over-the-top, whimsical material you might get from Eugène Ionesco (think Bald Soprano), Pinter paints a world that is grounded in domestic Brit reality, before slowly layering on the sublimely foolish. It’s hard not to imagine this style of theatrics/performance art not some how inspiring the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Pulp Fiction.
The story concerns an aging, grumpy Dad (Jack Willis) who is most definitely bi-polar, and more than ready to use his cane to keep his meek, limo-driving brother Sam (Kenneth Walsh) in line. Then there’s his sons. Both conniving aristocrat Lenny (Andrew Polk) and struggling boxer Joey (Adam O’Byrne) still live with Dad in a small North London home. When eldest son Teddy (Anthony Fusco) drops in for a surprise return home from America with Ruth (René Augesen), his newlywed of six years, the family and relationships are thrown into disarray. You’re just as likely to see this nuclear unit on Mars as you would in, say, Fremont.
Perhaps the best part of the show was the reaction of the audience. I think at times they were shocked. Many of them were probably also readily identifying with the proceedings. After all, don’t we all have a daughter-in-law that enjoys a good tussle with the boys…?
Directed to perfection by Carey Perloff, you get the sense that all involved here are 110% committed to the cause. In fact, as Perloff notes in the program, she even had the good fortune to work with Pinter in rehearsal; an experience she calls “amazingly invigorating and illuminating.” But, I wonder how it compared to working with Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix in the substantially more absurd I’m Still Here.
René Augesen, a ten year veteran of A.C.T.’s core acting company, delivers the best performance I’ve yet seen from her in the past few years since we’ve been covering theater on Stark Insider. She embodies the sly, sexually-charged Ruth with such unnerving nymph-like appeal, it’s easy to see why the role is one of her personal favorites. Sure, the tall blonde package helps. But it’s the slinky moves in combination with an undercurrent of intellect that really helps convince.
We’ve seen other actors here several times before. But with The Homecoming, the roles suit them to a tee. Andrew Polk blows his multi-layered fuse with the best of him when he discovers one of his brothers has intentionally eaten the cheese roll that he had painstakingly prepared and placed in the sideboard. It pales in comparison to the outlandish escapades later as the tart goes for a roll herself on the living room floor with the two sons at the same time while the family looks on.
The set (Daniel Ostling), once again, is yeoman’s work. Picture a Restoration Hardware mash-up involving an Escher print and an episode of Fawlty Towers. The staircase heading up to the second floor–or perhaps the portal to an alternate universe–is the longest I’ve ever seen on a stage. It makes for some memorable ups and downs.
I should also note the costumes (Alex Jaeger) are top notch. The men look frumpy in the morning, chain smoking and kibitzing. In their evening finest, they look bespoke.
Theater is an interesting beast. Sometimes you forget a show immediately, other times it lingers. And in the best cases it creates follow on conversation. Loni and talked about this one days later, and that to me is what it’s all about.
BTW – if you’re still reading this, you maggots … you runts: flake off!
The Homecoming
by Harold Pinter
Directed by Carey Perloff
American Conservatory Company (A.C.T.), San Francisco
4.5 out of 5 stars
Featuring Andrew Polk, Jack Willis, Kenneth Walsh, Adam O’Byrne, Anthony Fusco, René Augesen
Through March 27, 2011
