Even the keenest of theatre-goers will not be too familiar with Harold Pinter’s The Dwarfs, writes Christopher Peacock…
Adapted by Kerry Lee Crabbe from the novel written in the 1950s, and with only a couple of outings of differing forms, it’s easy to understand why. Now, the White Bear Theatre hosts this Flying Colours production.
The Dwarfs didn’t have the smoothest journey to the stage; it took Pinter four years to complete the novel which went unpublished until 1990. He did adapt it for radio in 1960 and took out one of the main characters, which made it incredibly concise but not as accessible for audiences. When adapting the novel, Kerry Lee Crabbe, with the blessing from Pinter himself, reinstated the only female character, Virginia, into the story of four people living in 1950s Hackney.
The other three characters are friends, Len, a quirky train station porter, Mark, a young actor with an eye for the ladies and Pete, Virginia’s City-working partner. The focus of the whole piece is the relationships which are tense yet familial and almost competitive at times. Intellectual conversations on Shakespeare and Bach fly out of their mouths in a mix of youthful confidence and East London wit and banter. The action turns when Virginia, having had too much of Pete’s overbearing intense nature, leaves him. This exposes the fragility of the friendships between the three men, especially after she then sleeps with Mark.
The performances from the quartet are all very strong. Ossian Perret plays the nerdy, obsessive Len with great warmth and some nice pieces of physical comedy. It’s a performance which plays well opposite Joseph Potter’s controlling and, at times, mentally unstable Pete. The pace of the show is what lets it down a little. Scenes are often very brief and with locations changing frequently the show does have a significant amount of time taken up by stage business. A naturally tight stage of a theatre above a pub does not help either, but every scene needed to have something moved or a prop placed in semi-blackout, which disturbed any rhythm the show was getting into.
The Dwarfs was written very early in Pinter’s career. Semi-autobiographical, fans of Pinter will see the seeds of themes and character traits that appear in later works and also recognise facets of Pinter’s own personality in all four of the characters. Pinter’s signature humour can be found in all the scenes, and those that are fans of his work will enjoy the play and may also want to revisit the novel.
The White Bear Theatre, 138, Kennington Road, SE11 4DJ until June 5th. Times: Tues-Sat 7.30pm; Sat matinees 3pm. Admission: £18, £14.
Booking: www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk