‘Lover’ leaves them on edge

Skillful performances and a keen eye for direction make Harold Pinter’s “The Lover” a must see at the Luna Playhouse in Glendale.

Playing Richard and Sarah, a married couple of 10 years, actors Aramazd Stepanian and Nora Armani capture attention from the moment this show gets underway.

Pinter’s language is precise and purposeful. So, rather than rushing things, director Gabrielle O’Sullivan and her cast deftly wring the most out of each moment.

In this rarely produced one-act, originally scripted for a 1963 United Kingdom television broadcast, Richard’s and Sarah’s relationship seems to be one of convenience. She has an ongoing love affair with frequent trysts at their home. He is the epitome of graceful accommodation, happy to reclaim her and their abode at the end of the day.

Of course, an outwardly cheery portrait is made all that much more intriguing when things go awry. So, for a couple of scenes, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Pinter taunts us without exposing the identity of Sarah’s lover. There’s a red herring designed to throw us off the scent, but that particular scene seemed rather ineffective.

The actual revelation of Sarah’s paramour induced genuine gasps from the audience because it became deliciously apparent this couple’s relationship is far more twisted than first suspected.

With multiple levels of jealous role-playing, Stepanian and Armani demonstrate their finely honed talents for delivering Pinter’s knifelike stream of innuendoes and double entendres.

Meanwhile, director O’Sullivan’s employment of musical recordings, written and performed by prolific composer Noel Coward, to set a perky pre-show mood and cover scene changes, is a cunningly misleading touch. Where things seem happy and normal, it becomes clear that they are anything but. This is a struggle for control, which veers toward the psychologically cruel.

Blessed with this talented cast, O’Sullivan also deserves major kudos for maintaining a pace that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

What’s doubly amazing is the repertory performance schedule of this production in both English and Armenian, thanks to the expertise of Stepanian and his co-translator Artashes Emin.

Production values for this show indicate a lifestyle of shabby, middle-class gentility. V.A. Sangbarani’s scenic design includes a hodgepodge of furniture tastes and large swags of slightly worn velvet in both gold and maroon.

Costuming, also credited to Sangbarani, effectively illustrates highly distinctive sides to these characters’ personalities. In one scene, they are modest, almost like what would be seen in the 1950s television series “Ozzie and Harriet.” In the next, both are highly provocative and sensual.

All of these aspects come together to present a well-crafted production, emphasizing a perversely symbiotic relationship whose conclusion leaves us wondering what might be coming next.

 DINK O’NEAL, an actor and member of the American Theatre Critics Assn., resides in Burbank.