The Homecoming

Synopsis

From the exterior it is a quiet London suburban house occupied by a father and his sons. But inside this male dominated household lurks a hotbed of Vice, Lust and Violence. The third son Teddy arrives from America bringing with him his enigmatic new wife. She soon becomes the focus of fascination for the father and his sadistic sons. They have plans for her. But who is the manipulator and who the manipulated? Pinter's trademark exploration of underlying menace and irrational violence is at it's best in this classic of barely repressed sexuality.

Our Review:

26 September 2001

Here's a Homecoming in several senses of the word, not to mention a Holm-coming.

First of all it brings Harold Pinter's powerful play of that name back to town, via the Gate Theatre in Dublin where this production originated and the recent Pinter Festival at New York's Lincoln Center where it was subsequently seen, for the third time in little over a decade. (The earlier revivals were at the National Theatre featuring Lindsay Duncan, and another, here also at the Comedy Theatre, in a production directed by Peter Hall who also staged the play's original 1965 production).

Secondly, it sees the return of Ian Holm (pictured) to the play. He featured in the original production as well as its subsequent film version, but has now graduated to the central role of Max, patriarch of the all-male North London household that also comprises two of his grown sons and his chauffeur brother.

And thirdly, it marks the stunning homecoming o...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 12 November 2001:

What on earth was that all about?...

Read more and add your own review