Landscape and a Kind of Alaska
Harold Pinter is one of the most recognized and influential British playwrights of the modern era. He is best known for his immortal works, ‘The Birthday Party’ and ‘The Homecoming’. His inimitable storytelling style is clearly perceivable in both Landscape and A Kind of Alaska. The expertly directed plays explore interesting concepts like isolation, loneliness, and the rapid metamorphosis of the modern world.
Landscape is a wonderful play that is very minimalist. A woman is trapped in a lovely memory while her spouse desperately attempts to be heard.
A Kind of Alaska revolves around a woman named Deborah who was asleep for twenty-nine years. She finally awakens and is now lost between the realm of reality and her dream.
The Story
Landscape virtually has no plot. Instead, the play lays focus on the interaction between Duff and Beth, the two characters. The only plot that does exist is that of the stories that the characters talk about. Duff calls out to Beth normally, but Beth never seems to hear his voice. The characters are always relaxed, and nothing seems forced. Beth keeps dreaming about some romance from her past. It is never clearly mentioned if that was Duff or someone else. Duff, on the other hand, is more pragmatic. He gets frustrated at a point and bursts into a fit of rage. Beth carries on with her romantic reminiscence and the play comes to and end. An intriguing Harold Pinter classic that focuses more on the interaction between the two characters, it is a must-watch for any fan of classic theatre.
A Kind of Alaska revolves around Deborah, a middle-aged woman who has been asleep for nearly 3 decades due to her contracting a ‘sleepy sickness’ called ‘encephalitis lethargica’. When she wakes up, she is physically older, but is mentally still a sixteen-year old. Deborah needs to take on a body that seems to have magically aged without her will or knowledge. Pauline, her sister, and Hornby, her sister’s husband help her gradually get back to her reality while trying to not let her get alarmed by any information that would be quite unsettling for her. Hornby looked after Deborah during the years she was asleep. He was her devoted doctor, and he may have slowly fallen deeply in love with her. When Deborah awakens, she tries to brave this morphed world around her, trying to adapt gracefully to her new life. A compelling story that has much to offer its viewers, A Kind of Alaska is a brilliant and thoroughly entertaining performance.
Good for
Fans of Comedy | Fans of Dark and Adult Humour | Fans of Satire
Critics Reviews
None yet since the play has not started previews.
