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Tension, comedy and the absurd will abound in Dunedin Repertory Society’s upcoming production of Harold Pinter’s classic play The Dumb Waiter.
Described as a masterclass in comedic menace, The Dumb Waiter will be staged for a limited split-season from July 30 to August 8 at the Playhouse Theatre, Albany St.
The production is directed by Chris Cook and stars Dunedin actors Dylan Shield and Brent Caldwell.
First performed in 1960, The Dumb Waiter blends the dark absurdity of Samuel Beckett with the sharp grit of a classic British crime thriller.
In a statement, Caldwell said the story of The Dumb Waiter followed Ben and Gus, two hitmen waiting for orders in a claustrophobic, subterranean basement.
As the agonising wait stretches on, their mundane arguments about newspapers and tea are shattered by a mysterious, mechanical contraption on the wall: a dumb waiter, which begins delivering increasingly bizarre food orders from an unknown entity upstairs.
What follows is an exploration of power dynamics, working-class anxieties and the terrifying humour of the unknown.
Director Chris Cook said, in a statement, Pinter had an extraordinary ability to take the absurdity of mundane life such as discussing putting on the kettle and have it feel simultaneously like a high-stakes thriller.
"The intimacy of the Playhouse Theatre is the absolute perfect venue to trap the audience right there in that basement with these two men," Cook said.
The experience of actors Shield and Caldwell meant the production would deliver the sharp, rhythmic dialogue and trademark "Pinter pauses" that defined a generation of modern theatre, he said.
Caldwell said the production’s performances would also feature a bonus second-half farce based on the experiences of Cook, Shield and himself in trying to present a section of The Dumb Waiter in Regional TheatreFest in 2025.
"With two weeks to go before the TheatreNZ TheatreFest last year, we were denied the rights to perform a cut of the play," Caldwell said.
"We were left with no other option but to improvise a farce based on this unexpected turn of events."
The result was a mad-cap hybrid that was well received, he said.
The upcoming production of Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter and the farce, is another event in the Dunedin Repertory Society’s fundraising programme.
All proceeds will go to the Playhouse refurbishment project.
Performances of The Dumb Waiter will be held at 7.30pm from Thursday, July 30, to Saturday, August 1, and Wednesday, August 5, to Saturday, August 8. There will also be a Sunday matinee at 2pm on August 2.
Tickets are available via www.theatretickets.co.nz — Allied Media