The Lover & A Slight Ache – The Questors Theatre

Desire, dysfunction, and drama doubled. The Lover & A Slight Ache, directed by David Erdos, is a double bill of classic Harold Pinter plays. While the two plays were written separately, the similarities between their themes create an intriguing convergence when performed together. Erdos’ direction and the cast’s performances create a sense of continuity between the two plays, making the transition from one to the next feel deliberate rather than a coincidence.

The Lover tells the story of Richard (Harry Roebuck) and Sarah (Catherine Luff), a married couple in their thirties. It is soon established that they have settled into a seemingly amicable arrangement where Sarah welcomes her “lover” into their home in the afternoons. Whereas Richard visits his “mistress” after work. It is a simple premise with a twist, examining how partners construct alternative identities to satisfy their sexual desires, ultimately exposing the fragile power games when the boundaries between fantasy and reality begin to collapse.

A Slight Ache, meanwhile, presents the seemingly idyllic life of an older couple, Flora (Wendy Megeney) and Edward (David Hovatter). Their life is gradually disrupted by the silent, persistent presence of a match seller (Iain Reid) standing outside their gate. As a continuation of the themes explored in The Lover, the play examines what remains of intimacy and identity when the performances that sustain a relationship begin to deteriorate, bringing buried fears and desires to the surface and exposing the fragility of the roles they have come to inhabit.

Both plays were carried by strong performances, although the second proved more compelling than the first. Roebuck and Luff establish good chemistry as the younger couple, balancing intimacy, tension and the underlying dysfunction of their relationship. This dynamic gives way to the older couple of A Slight Ache, where Megeney delivers a particularly commanding performance as Flora, and Hovatter brings a compelling intensity to Edward’s increasingly unstable presence. Iain Reid’s matchseller also makes an impression despite the character’s complete silence, with moments that are at times intriguing and unexpectedly comic.

The set design is sleek, using essentially the same layout for both plays while making subtle alterations to distinguish their respective periods. The lighting complemented the production well, though there were moments where a more dynamic approach could have heightened the sense of chaos and unease. That said, the relatively restrained approach may well have been deliberate, allowing Pinter’s dialogue and the actors to carry much of the tension themselves.

There is something reassuringly old-school about the production. Erdos remains faithful to the original plays while drawing out their shared concerns with marriage, identity, desire and the shifting nature of power. However, this is also where the production’s limitations lie. The pairing itself is not entirely new, and the production does not offer a radically new interpretation of either text. Its traditional approach may appeal more strongly to audiences already familiar with or appreciative of Pinter, while those looking for something more contemporary or experimental may find the production somewhat distant.

If you enjoy Pinter’s work as I do, The Lover & A Slight Ache offers a worthwhile opportunity to experience two of his one-act plays in dialogue with one another.

The Lover & A Slight Ache is running until Saturday, 26th September 2026, at The Questors Theatre.

Reviewer: Sonny Prateek
Reviewed: 19th September 2026
North West End UK Rating: