Sydney Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company present
No Man’s Land
by Harold Pinter
In a smart, upper class living room, litterateur Hirst and the scruffy poet Spooner drink vodka and talk about the past.
Spooner doesn’t belong here. He is in Hirst’s domain. When two younger men – Foster and Briggs – enter the room it becomes plain that Spooner’s presence has upset the status quo. Is this Hirst’s domain or theirs? And why does Spooner want to be a part of it?
Even after Spooner has been left alone, locked up in the darkness, he still implores Hirst to allow him to stay. Like most of Harold Pinter’s outsiders, Spooner becomes entangled in a situation that he can neither get out of nor function within.
Written by a mid-career Pinter in 1975, No Man’s Land is a haunting, enigmatic and darkly comic meditation on memory; its unreliability, the impossibility of it recording absolute truth and its potential to be used as a means of manipulation.
Quintessentially Pinteresque, No Man’s Land is complex and layered in meaning. The precision, playfulness and humorousness of Pinter’s writing results in a piece of theatre that is as wry as it is perplexing.
Savouring Pinter’s precise, spare dialogue, linguistic games and famous silences, this new interpretation of a modern classic is a must-see for Pinter aficionados and novices alike.
DRAMA THEATRE, SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
Schools Day Wed 16 November
Pre-show Intro 10:30am, 45 minutes
Performance 12:15pm
Duration 2 Hours, including interval
Post-show Q&A immediately following, 15 minutes
Content Adult themes, Frequent strong language
Suits Years 10 - 12
Cost $21/student
Curriculum Links:
Drama - Black Comedy
English - Belonging
Resources: Comprehensive student and teacher resources provided
Reviews
"They carve up the text and serve it with relish. Dangle a metaphor before Peter Carroll or a linguistic double-entendre before John Gaden and stand back. Their performances are nothing less than a combined master class in comic timing, stage craft, and the mastery of Pinter’s periphrastic turns of phrase and juicy linguistic circumlocution – yes, it’s like that at times, only really, really funny." - The Green Room
"The highly charged atmosphere of No Man's Land reminds us of what is most powerful in the work of this Nobel prize-winning playwright." - The Australian
"This is an incredible cast… if you want to see one of our greatest craftsmen at work on our local studio stage, take a deep breath, take a stiff drink from the bar and venture into No Man's Land." - BrizTix
“Brace yourselves for a rare treat!" - Stage Whispers
