Pinter Shorts, Trafalgar Studios

Harold Pinter is a legend of the theatre and his plays live on just as vibrantly even now he is gone. It is never a struggle to find brilliant, talented actors to tackle this playwright’s nuanced and thought-provoking pieces, exemplified in the cast of Traf Takeover: Pinter Shorts, which I was lucky enough to see in its limited run at the end of June.

This sparkling 45-minute production showcased two of Pinter’s shorter plays: Family Voices and Victoria Station. Both illustrate a mix of poignantly sad and hysterically funny anecdotes.

All involved in the production should be congratulated… making such concise scripts so scintillating is impressive work and I was astounded by the punchy performance, despite the one week rehearsal time. There is an amazingly young artistic team: Edward Stambollouian is one to watch in the directing realm and Emily Vaughan-Barratt shows great promise as a leading London theatre producer. The cast is stellar: Andrew Scott, Alun Armstrong and Joanna Lumley, a team of true professionals so comfortable on stage I felt I could watch them all night.

The 10pm late-night showing was a hoot, it felt like a very exciting club, but left you at the end of the night with so much more – it is a concept that is sure to catch on.

More information here.