Jabbering? Me? Maybe it was the blacks down the hall.— Davies

Jonathan Pryce as Davies

If squalor could be called picture perfect, then Eileen Diss’ set design for the Theatre Royal Bath’s premiere of Harold Pinter’s 1960 classic, The Caretaker, is just that. With its dull sky lighting, monotone shading, stacks of newspapers, cast iron beds, and a pail that catches ceiling leaks, the set appears from afar as a painting. It’s a railroad room and sound designer Tom Lishman starts the drone of trains on one side of the theater and moves them to the other, as if we were listening through stereo speakers.
The squalid room is occupied by a young man, Aston (Alan Cox), whose flat affect and easy going nature belie a stoic determination. They also present a too-tempting chance for manipulation by Davies (Jonathan Pryce), a chronically down-on-his-luck vagabond who is taken in by Aston and who is pretty much offered the run of the place. With more than a streak of vanity, Davies vehemently denies that he jabbers in his sleep or that he smells; he tries mightily to prove that beggars can be choosers: he rejects a pair of shoes Aston gives him and demands to switch beds.
Pryce as Davies is a sly and masterful comedian. He flashes hints of real malice as he pits Aston against the unhinged, pipe-dreaming Mick (Alex Hassell), Aston’s brother and the house’s owner. Davies slowly insinuates himself into both Aston’s physical and mental spaces; he goes for the jugular after Aston reveals a poignant secret about his mental health.

Aston appears to be a pushover but ultimately displays a passive fortitude that neither Mick nor Davies can match. Aston rejects what he could have been in Mick and the pathetic pauper he could become in Davies (he and Davies share a similar headache malady), and sets small — yet for his compromised mental state — challenging goals for himself: taking a walk in the neighborhood, fixing a toaster plug, and building a shed in the backyard. In the end, Aston understands human nature better than either of the others, and harshly preserves his own survival.
The three great actors are a formidable trinity and make this production, crisply directed by Christopher Morahan, an absolute must-see.

For more about Harold Pinter and links to other Pinter productions we've reviewed, see Curtainup'sHarold Pinter Backgrounder.

The Caretaker By Harold Pinter Directed by Christopher Morahan Cast: Jonathan Price (Davies), Alex Hassell (Mick), Alan Cox (Aston) Set Design: Eileen Diss Costume Design: Dany Everett Lighting Design: Colin Grenfell Sound Design: Tom Lishman Fight Direction: Bret Yount Assistant Director: Will Wrightson Producer: Danny Moar for Theatre Royal Bath Production Manager: Sean Pritchard Casting: Siobhan Bracke General Management, Tour Marketing and Press: CAPA Production Stage Manager: John C. McNamara Company Manager: Terence Dale Running Time: Two hours and twenty minutes, including one intermission Culture Project , Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theater, www.bam.org From May 3, 2012 – June 16, 2012; opening May 3, 2012 Performance schedule : May 3-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26 & 29-31; June 1, 2, 5-9 & 12-16, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m.; May 6, 13, 20 & 27; June 3, 10 & 17 @ 3 p.m.; May 12, 19 & 26; June 2, 19 & 16 @ 2 p.m. Reviewed by William Coyle, based on the May 8, 2012 performance

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