Theatre Review – The Birthday Party (MTC) – 2 Stars
While Pinter’s play itself is still very relevant in today’s political environment (whether it be the Iranian election or Guantanamo Bay), it was unfortunate that this production simply wasn’t very good. Whether it was Director Julian Meyrick’s bland and overly literal approach to the dialogue, or Isaac Drandic’s ‘Stanley’ (which was played like a bad impression of Napoleon Dynamite); this take on the iconic script was a disappointment. Really, the only things holding it together was Marshall Napier’s eloquent reminiscences as ‘McCann’ and Gregory Fryer’s very brief performance as ‘Petey’ – I’m hoping to see more from him in the future.
