Livingston’s Blue Slipper Theatre presents the next production of its new season with Harold Pinter’s Old Times this month. Performances are set for March 7th–16th. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 8pm, with Sunday matinees to follow at 3pm. The local production is directed by Marc Beaudin.
Its story features only three characters: Deeley, Kate and Anna – played by Hugh Kinslow, Valerie Kinley and Sherry Pikul, respectively. On the surface, Old Times offers the simple premise that Anna has come from Italy to visit an old friend Kate, and her husband Deeley in their house by the sea. Yet almost from the beginning there are tensions between the three characters, and an apparent contest for Kate’s affection.
While hostilities are rarely overtly expressed, the characters seem to be locked in a struggle for power which reaches back in to the past. Through conversations and reminiscences, their histories and personalities are exposed, but it seems unlikely that everything we hear is accurate, particularly as many of the accounts contradict each other. The question arises about whose memories are actually true.
Tickets for Old Times are $20 or $15 for students/seniors (plus fees) and are available at www.blueslipper.org. Seating at the Blue Slipper, located at 113 E Callender St, is limited. Please call (406) 222-7720 for more information. •
