Play in the City - Pinter's The Birthday Party at A.C.T.

Thanks to my friend D, for her excellent choice in which play to see. We saw a Harold Pinter classic The Birthday Party at the A.C.T. 

If you want a good play and solve some mystery, watch this one. Very well acted, as well.

The play started with Petey coming home and Meg making him something for breakfast. They live in a small coastal town. Meg kept mentioning waking up Stanley. That was my first question. Who is Stanley? My friend D and I looked at each other with a blank look. Apparently, she had the same question.

[read my other Play and Musical blogs here]

When Stanley finally appeared on stage and the subsequent scenes answered my first question, but my confusion only grew exponentially because now I am curious what was Stanley doing in this town and why hasn't he gone outside the house for a year? Did he leave home? Is he wanted for a crime? With the appearance of more characters in the mix -  the pretty Lulu and the mysterious looking duo of McCann and Goldberg, now the plot thickens.

 

The second act mostly answered my questions but in the end I only have assumptions regarding the true identity of Stanley. 

The cast were fantastic! The play was written by Harold Pinter and directed by Carey Perloff. Meg was played by Judith Ivey, Dan Hiatt as Petey, Firdous Bamji as Stanley, Judy Adamo as Lulu, Marco Barracelli as McCann and Scott Wentworth as Goldberg.

 

The Birthday Party is playing at the American Conservatory Theatre on Geary Boulevard through February 4, 2018.

~rl