19th February 2007
Two different approaches to Pinter yield very different results. Fourteen sketches of varying length are over-emphatically delivered by Bill Bailey and a trio of mugging actors. With a couple of tantalising exceptions, the effect is crude and relentlessly unfunny and Pinter's People proves a tedious chore. Far better to opt for the 55 minute long Dumb Waiter in which Jason Isaacs (Malfoy senior in the Harry Potter films) exudes just the right degree of edginess, barely kept under control, as a hitman awaiting his unknown victim. And Lee Evans is comically inventive — and equally impressive — as his shambolic sidekick in a squalidly atmospheric production which oozes disquieting menace.
Trafalgar Studios (1), Whitehall, SW1 (0870-060 6632). Until March 24
Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, SW1 (0870-380 2003). Until February 23
LOUISE KINGSLEY
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