Berkshire Theatre Festival opens its 2008 80th anniversary season with Harold Pinter's THE CARETAKER, directed by Eric Hill in the Unicorn Theatre. The production previews May 22 and 23, opens May 24 (press night), and runs through June 28. Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter's The Caretaker is an enigmatic and sinister comedy about the struggle for power. The fragile relationship of two brothers, Aston and Mick, is turned upside down when Davies, a homeless man, enters their lives. Since its premiere in 1960, this play has been recognized as a landmark in 20th century drama.
Harold Pinter was born in 1930, the son of a Jewish dressmaker, in the London borough of Hackney. Growing up, he was met with expressions of anti-Semitism, and has indicated its relevance to his becoming a dramatist. He made his playwriting debut in 1957 with The Room, presented in Bristol. Other early plays were The Birthday Party (1957), at first a fiasco of legendary dimensions but later one of his most performed plays, and The Dumb Waiter (1957). His conclusive breakthrough came with The Caretaker (1960), followed by The Homecoming (1964), Betrayal (1978), The New World Order (1991), Remembrance of Things Past (2000), and many other plays. Since 1973, Pinter has won recognition as a fighter for human rights, alongside his writing. He has also written radio plays and screenplays for film and television. Among his best-known screenplays are those for The Servant (1963), The Accident (1967), The Go-Between (1971), and The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981, based on the John Fowles novel). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.
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Jonathan Epstein (Davies) most recently received rave reviews for his portrayal of Frank in BTF's production of Educating Rita. Epstein's past BTF credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Via Dolorosa, and Rat in the Skull. Twice honored with Elliot Norton awards for outstanding actor, he has performed at regional theatres throughout the country, off and on Broadway, and in London's West End. James Barry (Mick) is a veteran of ten BTF productions, including The Misanthrope and Amadeus. He has also performed at Syracuse Stage, Irish Repertory Theatre, 78th Street Theatre Lab, and Drury Lane at Watertower Place (Chicago). Tommy Schrider (Aston) appeared at BTF as Dale Harding in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest last season and previously played Einstein in The Einstein Project. His Off-Broadway credits include performances at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Irish Repertory Theatre, Classic Stage, and New York Theatre Workshop, in addition to numerous regional theatre productions.
Eric Hill is known for his distinctive directing style of intense physicality and poetic musicality. His previous BTF credits include The Glass Menagerie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus,
A Christmas Carol, A Dream Play, Siddhartha, Life's a Dream, Camelot,
My Fair Lady, Peter Pan, and Moby Dick—Rehearsed. To create the claustrophobic attic setting of The Caretaker, Hill is joined by scenic designer Jonathan Wentz, costume designer Yoshinori Tanokura, lighting designer Matthew E. Adelson, and composer and sound designer J Hagenbuckle.
The Caretaker in BTF's Unicorn Theatre previews May 22, 23, opens May 24 (press night), and runs through June 28, playing Thursday through Saturday at 8pm. In addition there will be 2pm matinees on May 25, June 1, June 8, June 21, and June 28; Monday through Wednesday performances at 8pm on June 16 – 18 and June 23 – 25. A free post-show discussion with the cast will be held following the June 16 performance. There will be no performance on Saturday, June 21.
Tickets range from $39 to $44. Students with valid ID receive fifty percent discount. Contact the BTF Box Office at 413-298-5576 or visit
www.berkshiretheatre.org. Box Office hours are Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm and one hour prior to curtain.
Founded in 1928, Berkshire Theatre Festival is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. It is one of the oldest professional regional theatres in the United States and the longest-running cultural organization in the Berkshires. Now under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire, BTF presents theatre that matters—world premieres, contemporary works, and classics that speak to who we are in our world today. The Main Stage (408 seats), cataloged by the National Register of Historic Places, was originally designed and built by Stanford White as the Stockbridge Casino in 1888. The mission of BTF's second stage, the intimate Unicorn Theatre (122 seats), is to provide a home for emerging artists and new theatrical ideas. BTF's education program, BTF PLAYS!, reaches over 10,000 children annually through school residencies, touring performances, and summer performance training and writing programs. During the summer months BTF opens its doors to over 75 administrative, acting, and technical interns and apprentices. For more information about Berkshire Theatre Festival, please visit
www.berkshiretheatre.org
