Written by Harold Pinter, Directed by Mark Kilmurry
Humourous and absurd, Harold Pinter’s 1960s works bringing his trademark style to Ensemble Theatre
Reviewed by Andrea Bunjamin
Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli
Until 7h June, 2025
Tickets: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/the-lover-the-dumb-waiter/
Type: Comedy, Drama, Absurd
If You Liked: The Caretaker, The Seagull, A Marriage Proposal
Bringing together two works by legendary British dramatist, Harold Pinter, Ensemble Theatre’s double bill production features one-act-plays; The Lover (1962) and The Dumbwaiter (1960).
Seated in an affluent, 1960s British suburban living room, The Lovers opens with husband and wife getting ready for work. Richard (Gareth Davies) nonchalantly asks his wife Sarah (Nicole da Silva), ‘Is your lover coming today?” As he gets ready for work, she answers that he is due to arrive at three and that they are staying in. It’s delivered with extreme casualness – a routine exchange. The plan for the day is set and each go on their merry ways…or so we thought.
The Lover’s, strong exposition about a seemingly healthy open relationship brings in a humorous sense of mundanity that morphs into deliciously juicy suspicion. From affair, to mysterious lover, we’re hooked by the state of their relationship. Days pass without sight of this lover, building up the anticipation and exploring inter-relationship dynamics. When he finally arrives, the script’s coated subtext is heightened. Retrospectively, those earlier routine exchanges take on a new meaning. The standout themes of the play are the power dynamics between Richard and Sarah; a critical, absurd and entertaining commentary on marriage, desire and human nature.
In classic Pinteresque-fashion, both plays brings us peculiar premises from the get go. Act II brings an entirely different story that flipped the night on its head. With a complete set change, we return from the interval to a dingy Birmingham cellar, where two hitmen await their next assignment. There are two single beds, and a random dumbwaiter between them. Unable to make a cup of tea and with nothing to do, Gus (Anthony Taufa) asks his senior, Ben (Gareth Davies) a barrage of questions, and through this banter, we learn how bleak their circumstances are. Not just from boredom, but the sense of mindlessness from constantly having to wait.
After arguing over semantics such as ‘light the kettle’ versus ‘put on the kettle’, the dumbwaiter suddenly rattles with slips of paper – food orders waiting to be fulfilled. After much confusion and shouting, they decide to try and send up their meagre snacks to this mysterious customer. The Dumbwaiter, features more of the absurdity that’s signature in Pinter’s playwrighting. It’s the kind of absurdity that leaves you dumbfounded and asks you to fill in the blanks as an audience member.
The play’s aforementioned ‘claustrophobic’ atmosphere feels more akin to ‘bearable stress’ rather than overwhelming tension, and the ambiguity in this minimal plot-driven story leaves you with more questions than answers. As the play unfolds, you are predictably left wondering whether either of these two men would make it out alive. The themes of power are more clear cut in The Dumbwaiter, which thoughtfully leaves us questioning our own lives and whether any of us are paving the way, or are we just following something or someone.
This double bill gives an entertaining introduction to comedy of menace, a term used to describe Pinter’s writing that combines both comedy and menace in an abstract and non-naturalistic style. Upon reflection, the intention behind pairing these two vastly different plays feels primarily like a humble dedication to showcase the range Pinter had to his craft as an actor-playwright. In terms of momentum however, the strong escalation of tension gets a bit lost midway through the second act as the motivations behind the characters get muddled. Apart from the handful of shared themes between the two acts, the production takes a big risk in the levels of absurdity it chooses to depict. The unsettling ending of The Lover exceeds the ambiguity of The Dumbwaiter, as the direness of the former play lingers on.
Theatre Thought: What considerations do creators make when deciding which two works to pair in a Double Bill?
CAST & CREATIVES
Harold Pinter – Playwright
Mark Kilmurry – Director
Simone Romaniuk – Set & Costume Designer
Matt Cox – Lighting Designer
Daryl Wallis – Composer & Sound Designer
Linda Nicholls-Gidley – Dialect Coach
Chloe Dallimore – Intimacy Coordinator
Lauren Tulloch – Stage Manager
Yasmin Breeze – Assistant Stage Manager
Sara Kolijn – Costume Supervisor
Nicole Da Silva – Cast
Gareth Davies – Cast
Anthony Taufa – Cast
