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                                  The Peak
            Simon Fraser University's Student Newspaper since 1965
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Simon Fraser University         | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada  V5A 1S6
e-mail: peak@sfu.ca             | phone: (604) 291-3597 fax: (604) 291-3786
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Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 3      -- September 19th, 1994 --          -- Arts --
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The Lover
By Michelle Granove
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Well, it has been ten years, and the Fringe Festival is
still struggling for life. On Sunday, September 11, I joined
the fight, and took in a noon production of Harold Pinter's
The Lover. I feel much better for the experience, having
supported talented local thespians, and catching a keen show
to boot.

The Fringe has the reputation of being cutting edge, a
little raw, a little zany, perhaps a tad unpolished, and it
is hard to say where a relatively mainstream work, such as
Pinter's, fits into this picture. However, this production
works in a huge way. This Mature comedy is just bent enough
that perhaps it can wrench a good belly laugh or four from
your very dry, and no doubt sophisticated, being.

The plot is simple, although not necessarily straight
forward. Sarah (Lee Van Paassen) and Richard (Gerard
Plunkett) have been married for ten years. Their mannerisms
convey that they have settled into the daily routine of
people who have been married a LONG TIME. But whoa, hold on.
It's not the usual domestic drivel spouting from their lips
after a "good morning" peck on the cheek. While most people
would keel over dead should their significant other question
them about a planned tryst with a lover later that day, such
seems commonplace with Sarah and Richard.

The audience can sense the struggle as this upper-crust
couple attempts to come to grips with all things base, and
it is from this struggle that the true identity of the
lovers can emerge. Sarah and Richard's banter is loaded with
double entendres, both witty and entertaining, but once Max
and the common garden slut enter the picture, it becomes
engaging. This is a story about compromise, and balancing
fantasy with reality - basically things we face everyday.

The performances delivered by Van Paassen and Plunkett are
of a high calibre, and both actors prove themselves to be
versatile and captivating. They would have us believe that
when trying to resolve a conflict, one can never
underestimate the power of a lingering look, a pair of
spiked heels, and a well-placed card table. I think they are
correct, so pick a fantasy, throw in a pair of chaps, and we
are in business.