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 Harold Pinter’s rarely-produced early work is a humorous study in fear and loathing at the Odyssey Theatre.
Veteran director Jack Heller returns to the Odyssey Theatre to helm a visiting production of Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter, an evening of two rarely staged Pinter one-acts—one chilling, one darkly comic, both unmistakably unsettling. Opening night is set for March 20, with performances continuing through April 26.
In Party Time, affluent guests at a chic London gathering trade gossip and brag about wealthy pursuits while, just beyond the half-open door, an unjust regime enforces “order” with brutal force.
In the second half of the evening, the tone shifts as a married couple, Sarah and Richard, enliven their relationship by exchanging intimate accounts of their affairs—until Pinter’s sly, bittersweet twist reveals how fragile the boundaries between fantasy, power and desire truly are.
“Pinter has an extraordinary ability to make us laugh at the very moment we should be most afraid,” suggests Heller. “Party Time exposes the casual cruelty of power and privilege with chilling precision, while The Lover seduces us with wit and playfulness before quietly pulling the rug out from under our assumptions about intimacy and control. Presented together, these two one-acts feel less like separate plays and more like a single, unnerving conversation about how people use language, sometimes charmingly, sometimes violently, to get what they want.”
Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was one of the most influential, provocative and poetic dramatists of his generation. Inspired in part by Samuel Beckett, he created his own distinctive style, marked by terse dialogue and meaningful pauses. His plays are particularly famous for their use of understatement to convey characters’ thoughts and feelings. In 2005, Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The eccentric behavior and dialogue in Pinter’s plays are frequently very funny, and audiences laugh hard and long, yet there is an underlying feeling of danger in his plays, and critics frequently describe them as “comedies of menace.” We, the audience, have the same need for verification that the characters have, and Pinter artfully makes us experience their uneasiness. His plays are funny, but agitating.
Performances of Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter take place Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m., March 20 through April 26. All tickets are $35. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025. For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 x 2 or go to OdysseyTheatre.com.
Presenter / Producer: Odyssey Theatre
Listed Categories
Theater > Drama
Theater > Theatrical Comedy
Event Phone: 310-477-2055
Venue
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90025
Regions:
LA - Hollywood / Westside
Performance Dates: 3/20/2026 - 4/26/2026
Friday, 03/20/2026
Saturday, 03/21/2026
Sunday, 03/22/2026
Friday, 03/27/2026
Saturday, 03/28/2026
Sunday, 03/29/2026
Friday, 04/03/2026
Saturday, 04/04/2026
Sunday, 04/05/2026
Friday, 04/10/2026
Saturday, 04/11/2026
Sunday, 04/12/2026
Friday, 04/17/2026
Saturday, 04/18/2026
Sunday, 04/19/2026
Friday, 04/24/2026
Saturday, 04/25/2026
Sunday, 04/26/2026
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Performance Times
• Fridays @ 8 p.m.
• Saturdays @ 8 p.m.
• Sundays @ 3 p.m.
Ticket Information:
$35
Web Link for ticketing
Websites:
Event Information
Social Media or other Links:
https://www.facebook.com/ASlightAcheplay
https://www.instagram.com/a_slight_ache_play
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