Theater lovers would be wise to subscribe to UD’s Resident Ensemble Players season, which opens with a scorcher this weekend: “The Homecoming,” by Harold Pinter.
“The Homecoming,” which runs September 23-November 13, is for mature audiences only. It is the uncomfortable yet entertaining story of Teddy, who returns to his childhood home in North London and introduces his wife, Ruth, to his family. Sounds innocent enough, but this is no normal homecoming. A sexually provocative and distorted comedy of family life, the play teases with the candid dialogue of Teddy, his father and his brothers, as they find themselves competing for the attention of Teddy’s sexually charged wife.
According to director Leslie Reidel, “The Homecoming” is archetypal, mythic stuff crammed into a North London working-class living room. It might be fun relating it to things like “Family Guy,” which gets at all manners of violence and betrayal within the family and even touches on bestiality.” (Again, not for the kids.)
Among Pinter’s plays are “The Birthday Party,” “Old Times” and “Betrayal.” Pinter turned to politics in his later years, depicting torture and political repression on stage and protesting the Iraq War. He received the Nobel Prize in 2005. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2002 and died in 2008.
The REP season is full of surprises. According to producing artistic director Sandy Robbins (on the REP Website), the 2010-2011 season combines “The hilarity of Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward, the joy and sorrow of Thornton Wilder, the magic and mystery of Shakespeare’s most popular play, a chilling and funny modern masterpiece by Harold Pinter,” and more. Perhaps most intriguing is the new play “O Beautiful, ” by playwright Theresa Rebeck. Rebeck was commissioned by UD to write the play specifically for the REP troupe. This is a very big deal—the kind of event most producing theater administrators would envy. The play runs April 20-May 1. Stay tuned for more on that.
Contact info: udel.edu/theatre, or 831-2204.
