Changing the world.  One imagination at a time.

On Stage: Recent

The Caretaker

by Harold Pinter
May 22 – June 28, 2009
    Time
    Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.
    Sundays at 7 p.m.
    Location
    The Side Project
    1439 West Jarvis
    Chicago, IL
    Tickets
    $20 or pay what you can
    Reservations
    (773) 508-0666

Last seen together in the acclaimed Waiting for Godot, Beau O'Reilly, Colm O'Reilly, and Jeffrey Bivens are reunited in Harold Pinter's searing 1960 drama about a tramp and two deranged brothers who face off in a broken-down flat. This time they're trashing the joint.

Like Beckett, Nobel laureate Pinter is one of the few playwrights Curious claims as an influence. In The Caretaker— his sixth play, but the first to enjoy commercial success— Pinter manifests the influence of the Theatre of the Absurd in the black-comic interactions between the vulnerable, reticent Aston; his ill-tempered brother Mick, who seems to be responsible for the junk-strewn house they share; and Davies, a strange old homeless man whom Aston brings home without apparent reason.

Top 5 Productions of 2009—Newcity
...sharp and unpredictable...—Chicago Reader
Curious claims Pinter, along with Beckett, as a guiding spirit for its longtime fringe presence; this production, smart and nuanced... demonstrates how deeply the company understands the playwright's work.—Time Out
One of the most mesmerizing performances of the year came from Beau O'Reilly as Davies.... Colm O'Reilly and Jeff Bivens were uncompromisingly disturbed as Ashton and Mick, but Beau O'Reilly's disjointed transient Davies had an undercurrent of unrealized threat that made you keep him in your eye, even if he was only fumbling around in the background. This was a great production, a study in how to convey absurdity to an audience in a way the audience can wrap its brain around.—Chicago Stage Review
[A]s fine a Pinter revival as you could hope to get, a confident and intelligent staging that nails Pinter's complex musicality, but more importantly boasts three superb performances that demand to be seen.—Newcity
[S]pellbinding performances.... whimsically threatening and brilliantly absurd.... Curious Theatre Branch's The Caretaker is a uniquely profound piece of delicate and intense theater.—Steadstyle Chicago
Curious Theatre Branch's engaging production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker is must-see theatre. Colm O'Reilly, Jeff Bivens, and the incomparable Beau O'Reilly crackle onstage....—Chicago Stage Review
[T]he staging of this somewhat baffling masterpiece is darkly visceral yet smartly communicative.—Chicago Theater Blog
Featuring Beau O'Reilly, Colm O'Reilly & Jeffrey Bivens • Directed by Jayita Bhattacharya & the ensemble • Sets by Shawn Reddy • Costumes by Megan Larmer • Sound by Matt Test • Produced by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Beau and Colm O'Reilly in THE CARETAKER Colm and Beau

Colm O'Reilly and Jeffrey Bivens in THE CARETAKER Colm and Jeff

Colm and Beau in a scene from The Caretaker