Dwarfs

Originally a semi-autobiographical novel by Harold Pinter, this new adaptation by Kerry Lee Crabbe of The Dwarfs receives its world premiere at the Tricycle Theatre. The story tells of three male friends, a woman and a betrayal, but here plot is secondary to Pinter’s elusive themes.

The evening is rather like a giant puzzle, full of contradictions; poetic and littered with literary references while at the same time heavily employing the vernacular. It is verbose at times, sparse and ‘Pinter-esque’ at others. Pinter uses the most graphic imagery to remind us of the mortality of these characters, and the drama comes from each individual’s battle to make sense of their world.

The piece suggests that friendships are merely a means of research: if we can understand one another’s erratic behaviour perhaps that will go some way to explaining our own existence. Indeed, the characters here – Len, Mark, Pete and the ironically named Virginia – never communicate fully. Often going off at tangents and having conversations in parallel, they fail to listen to one another, each one locked inside their own struggle (with mortality).

As the practically bi-polar Pete, Jamie Lee is convincing and suitably menacing, while Daisy Haggard’s Virginia creates just enough mystery to keep us guessing. Unfortunately, Ben Caplan’s Mark – despite a promising start (and a good resemblance to the young Pinter)- fails to complete the emotional journey necessary to convince fully of his later behaviour.

As Len, who is even more isolated than the others thanks to a nerdy and almost obsessive-compulsive nature, Mark Rice-Oxley is impressive, judging perfectly the level to pitch his performance. The neat touches he adds gives the evening some of its lighter and more amusing moments.

The main problem with director Christopher Morohan’s production is the length of the scenes. They are too short, so the oppressive atmosphere for which Pinter’s plays are so well known never has sufficient time to build. But Eileen Diss’ economical set, with a well-placed wall of gauze, does well to create an elliptical space, with each room morphing into the next.

Pinter has himself given this production his blessing, and The Dwarfs is certainly a thoughtful engaging evening. But, ultimately, it is a play about ideas so much so that, when a semblance of a plot is introduced towards the end, the action becomes rather staid and difficult to swallow.

– Hannah Khalil