My Chat with Harold Pinter – King’s Arms, Salford

All playwrights speak to each other in one way or another. Sometimes they will talk to the living but most of the time they talk to the dead. Every writer has stolen from another scribe, especially their heroes, and usually they are six-foot under and not in a position to complain.

In this play, playwright Jen communes with Harold Pinter to help her to write her play. She wants him to assist her through her writer’s block so she can complete writing her magnum opus. Thus starts a post-modern foray into writing, feminism and theatre which will also teach you the fielding positions in cricket.

People of a certain age will remember a TV show called Call My Bluff and there are lots of words in this play which could have been included in that programme. On that show celebrities had to define esoteric words and in this play we were treated to bombilate (To make a humming or buzzing sound), fopdoodle (A fool) and raggabrash (A disorganised person) amongst many other wonderfully obscure words in the exchanges between Jen and Pinter.

The play deconstructed Pinter’s plays and there was much fun made about his famed silences. The writer Miriam Higgins was clearly coming at his works from a feminist angle, and she is obviously a fan.

Miriam is clearly an intellectual writer and within this short play there was a hell of a lot going on. It would be interesting to see if it could be developed into a longer piece. There were so many ideas fizzing and bouncing around as the two interacted. There were discussions about sexual harassment, the difficulty, or desire even, to fit in, mental health and a reference to one my favourite Dr Who episodes, The Sun Makers.

Ashleigh Aston’s Jen was astute, intelligent, sharp and shrewd whilst also possessing that vulnerability which lurks in the soul of every creative artist. The character was neurodivergent, and she brought that across with an adroit elegance. This was an exquisite performance full of nuance and fine expression.

Louis Pieris was commanding as Pinter, and he played the badinage between his character and Jen’s with poise and confidence. He gave the famed playwright a certain sense of fun and there was a nice undercurrent of whimsey underneath the serious front.

Music was a theme in the play and Jen talks at one point about being part of an orchestra as the different sections of it are brought to life and she equates a symphony to playwrighting. An hour-long play is closer to a pop or rock album than a classical piece and this play had some wonderful melodies which just needed a bit more time to make them transcendent.

It was a very compelling play and Pinter’s advice to Jen to “write what you want” is an instruction that should be taken by every writer.

The play will be on in London’s Camden People’s Theatre from the 25th – 27th July for tickets go to – https://cptheatre.co.uk/whatson/My-Chat-With-Harold-Pinter.

Reviewer: Adam Williams

Reviewed: 18th July 2024

North West End UK Rating: