Following the success of The Caretaker, Ensemble Theatre is thrilled to bring not one, but two of Harold Pinter's gripping one-act plays, The Lover & The Dumb Waiter to the stage, from Friday 2nd May to Saturday 7th June.
Directed by Ensemble Theatre's Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry, this double bill offers audiences a unique opportunity to experience the dark humour and suspense that hallmark Pinter's work.
In The Lover, the façade of a conventional marriage unravels as Richard and Sarah explore unconventional means to reignite their relationship, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Churning with intrigue and uneasy humour, Harold Pinter spins a dangerous game of cat and mouse in this steamy psychological drama starring Nicole Da Silva (The Memory of Water, TV's Wentworth) and Gareth Davies (Benefactors, Belvoir's Master And Margarita).
Davies returns to the stage alongside Anthony Taufa (Alone It Stands, A Christmas Carol) in The Dumb Waiter, a comedy of claustrophobia, bringing to the surface Pinter's signature tension and wit. Ben and Gus have a job to do. As they await instructions, their silence is disturbed by the rattle of a dumb waiter delivering peculiar food orders. Who is making demands for extravagant dishes when all the two men have is a packet of crisps? As intensity builds, Ben and Gus begin to question everything.
"Harold Pinter, like Chekhov, creates a hypnotic world of reality through what is not said as much as what is said. The real and the unreal exist at the same time, memories and present holding a place in the future. The Lover asks what it takes to keep a married relationship alive and The Dumb Waiter, concerning two men of violence, wonder who is in charge. I am ecstatic we have such a wonderful cast and creative team realising these extraordinary plays written by Pinter at the dizzying height of his creativity" said Director Mark Kilmurry.
Don't miss the chance to see two works from one of the most influential modern British dramatists. The LoverandThe Dumb Waiter When: 2 May 2025 – 7 June 2025 Where: Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall St, Kirribilli NSW 2061 Tickets: From $43 Bookings:https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/the-lover-the-dumb-waiter/