The Caretaker for Hallowe'en

I saw a performance of Pinter's The Caretaker tonight - fitting, isn't it, to do something chilling and absurdist on Hallowe'en?

The acting was great, and though I own a copy, I'd not yet read it. I really liked the stark, wrenching script - set and lighting to match - which produced a chilling and deeply affecting impact. The evasion and omission in the language, and the power dynamics between the characters resulted in an overwhelming sense of futility, but in a darkly humourous and cathartic way. I think absurdism like this is so intensely relevant right now, in this crazy fucked up time we live in.

The play's program quoted the English critic T. C. Worsley as saying "we are in the Beckett climate, but without the Beckett fog." I suppose that implies that Pinter is more accessible than Beckett, and I'm no expert on either, but it was definitely not an impenetrable play. It's not meant to be. Two brothers, one house, a homeless guy who settles in, and the disjointed dialogue ensues. Quite straight forward, really. Nor do I find Beckett opaque - you just have let go of any preconceptions you have about linear reality!

Reminds me of a funny conversation last time I was back home, in Dunnville. My 18-year-old step-bro had just read Waiting for Godot, and Hamlet, and was struggling to compare them in an essay (don't you miss high school sometimes?). He didn't seem to have any trouble with the Shakespeare, but was incensed over the Beckett! It frustrated him, the futility of it all, the inactivity, the perceived passivity, and while he was horrified that I could recite the play's ending (I tried to tell my tipsy self he was impressed), I did manage to convey some parallels around Hamlet's inaction and absurdist "waiting" and themes of futility. He did dash off to take some notes, which was really cool - for me, anyway! Maybe not so much for an 18 year old on a Sat. night.

I need more good theatre in my life. And though I liked tonight's production, Soulpepper is definitely not the answer. Just something staid about it. And male. And white. Still.

I'd rather see more like She's Gone Away, which I saw in the spring. That was impossible to categorize, higly technically skilled, and emotionally virtuosic. We need more like that to inspire us, and bust up our boundaries.