THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Harold Pinter Plays in Redwood City, 6/5-6/15
By: Courtnie Mele May. 24, 2014
Highly controversial when it opened in 1958 and now considered a classic, The Birthday Party is one of Pinter's least subtle plays. Set in a seaside boarding house, it is part black comedy and part whodunit, with the central action literally happening in the dark. Like all great literature, it asks timeless questions: How can we be sure that anyone is who he says he is? Is it ever possible to pin down the truth of the past? And can we ever escape our deepest fears?
An English native, Jenny Hollingworth has been fascinated by the work of Harold Pinter ever since she first read his plays at university. In 2012, she produced and directed Pinter's Betrayal under the aegis of her own company, Only Connect Theatre. The production, which was staged at the Dragon, won a Silicon Valley Small Theatre award for Standout Adult Contemporary Drama. Consequently, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to direct Pinter again, thanks to the generosity of Dragon 2nd Stages.
Jenny has directed for several companies in the Bay Area, including City Lights, The Pear, Tabard, Arclight Repertory Theatre and Santa Clara Players, and has also assistant directed at San Jose Repertory theatre. Her many productions have included her own adaptation of Hamlet for a staged "1930s radio" rendition, and a show which she wrote, produced and directed for a sales conference in Las Vegas. When not in the theatre, she works in something called 'corporate communications,' an irony that she sometimes feels Pinter would have enjoyed.
FEATURING: Monica Ammerman as Lulu, Tom Bleecker as Petey, Avi Jacobson as Goldberg,Brian Levi as McCann,Celia Maurice as Meg, and Paul Stout as Stanley.
Designers: Carlos Aceves (set design), William Campbell (lighting designer), Stephen Davies (sound design), Durand Garcia (fight choreography), Jenny Hollingworth (director & producer), Meredith Hagedorn (executive artistic director), Lisa Lowe (costume design), and Chiho Saito (stage manager), Victoria Weber (properties design).
The Birthday Party will run June 5 - 15; Fridays and Saturdays at 8p; Saturdays and Sundays at 2p.
SPECIAL EVENTS
June 5th Pre-show panel with Stanford University: Faculty members Kay Kostopoulos lecturer at Stanford University, Department of Theater, Graduate School of Business and Rush Rehm, Professor of Classics and Theater & Performing Studies at Stanford University. Doors open at 6:30p; discussion starts at 6:45p. Then join the panel at LV Mar for cocktails. A percentage of the cocktails and tapas sales will be donated to the Dragon Theatre. Then head back to the theatre for a preview of The Birthday Party at 8p. Suggested donation of $15 for this special preview event.
Opening night gala after the June 6th show
Post-show discussion after the two Sunday matinees
WHERE: The Dragon Theatre in downtown Redwood City. 2120 Broadway Street at the intersection of Broadway and Theatre Way.
TICKETS: $15 for all general admission seats. $100 for the VIP box (seats 4 people and includes champagne and chocolates.)
Photo Credit: James Kasyan
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