REVIEW: "NO MAN'S LAND" @ SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NJ

First off, let me say that playwright Harold Pinter is not everyone’s cup of tea. Indeed, his plays are filled with inscrutable characters, thorny plots, witty (often ironic) dialogue and long silences.

That said, one of his more difficult plays, No Man’s Land, now onstage at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, will have you scratching your head long after the lights finally go down. Not in a bad way, mind you, but as director Bonnie J. Monte averred in an audience “Talk Back” after last Sunday’s matinee performance, No Man’s Land elicits a variety of interpretations, none of them definitive nor correct; the play is ultimately given meaning by the viewer or reader (or actor, since several actors had differing interpretations too).

Running 90 minutes without an intermission, No Man’s Land focuses on a poet, essayist and critic named Hurst, who has invited Spooner, a poet he met in a pub on Hampstead Heath, to his home for a drink. The two men are the same age—in their sixties—and appear to have been classmates at Oxford University. Spooner is gregarious, almost annoyingly so, as he rattles on while the more reticent Hurst looks bored. As the night unwinds, the two men continue to drink; Hurst becomes so inebriated that he falls down and crawls on his hands and knees out of the drawing room.

Thereupon enter two rather thuggish, lower class men, Foster and Briggs, who appear to protect the “rich and powerful” Hurst and “make life possible” for him. When Hurst reappears the next morning, he rambles on about a dream he had and discloses some unsavory details about himself and Spooner’s wife. The play’s ending is rather amorphous: What will become of Hurst? Spooner? Who are these two men (their names change in the second act)? What’s it all about, Harold?
Well, I can’t help you there. I have my own ideas about the play’s meaning. Spooner and Hurst, albeit the same age and profession, are very different personalities. Hurst has become a recluse, not writing very much but doing an incredible amount of drinking. Spooner isn’t very successful as a poet—he has taken odd jobs busing pub tables and cleaning latrines—but he talks about getting his friend gigs reading poetry in those pubs as a way for people to access Hurst’s poetry, the stuff he’s written, not what he’s planning to write! Hurst, therefore, is in “no man’s land”: an area of uncertainty or ambiguity or a place of refuge that forbids any external intrusion (per Monte’s director’s notes in the program). He has a choice: hecan remain cloistered in his London townhouse where he will inevitably die alone (attended by his hired help) or he can rejoin the land of the living, however tawdry that may be.

Monte has assembled a stellar cast to deliver Pinter’s beautifully written dialogue. Edmond Genest is splendid as Hurst, all upper crust and buttoned down. Just his facial expressions speak volumes, and he portrays an authentic drunk. Sherman Howard almost steals the show from his host; effusive, warm, charming, he’s more alive but more annoying. And entirely natural and convincing. Derek Wilson plays Foster who, despite his slight build, immediately sets one’s teeth on edge in the face of danger. And Paul Mullins as Briggs/Dennison is even more intimidating; he appears to be in control of everything and everyone. I’d hate to cross a man like him.

Production values match the polished production. Adam Miecielica’s London drawing room/library telegraphs wealth and power. Hugh Hanson’s costumes speak volumes about the characters who wear them. Hurst is nattily attired in bespoke suits, while Spooner’s wrinkled, stained, ill-fitting suit telegraphs his economic situation. Foster’s leather jacket is almost punk-like; Briggs’ clothing is rather neutral, which doesn’t let us get a handle on just who this guy is. Steven Rosen’s lighting is appropriate to the passage of time and highlights the possible peril faced by Hurst and Spooner.

Before his death in 2008, Harold Pinter was considered by many to be the world’s greatest living playwright. Although his plays may be difficult to interpret, they confront themes that affect us all and affect each person who sees them or reads them differently. They are fluid, living pieces of art. No Man’s Land at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is a wonderful memorial to this late, great artist and a chance for you to see what all the fuss was/is all about. Best of all, there are talk backs with Monte and the actors after each performance where you can give your two cents and listen to other audience members (and actors) give theirs.

No Man’s Land will be performed Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM, Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM; and Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2 PM through August 29. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is located on the campus of Drew University on Madison Avenue in Madison. For information and tickets, call the box office at 973.408.5600 or visit online at http://www.shakespearenj.org/