How well do you know your partner? And what about their past? Is your partner still the same person you met all those years ago?

These are some of the probing questions Harold Pinter’s elusive Old Times may lead you to consider, but definitely not provide you with any answers for.

Indeed, Old Times may be said to raise more questions than it offers answers. Unifaun Theatre Productions will be staging one of this Nobel Prize winner’s most elusive and deeply baffling plays, despite also being one of his most intriguing.

Those who are familiar with Unifaun’s productions will not be surprised at the choice of play.

“Our aim,” says producer Adrian Buckle, “is to produce plays that entertain our audiences by challenging them and the status quo.”

He admits that the company has always been challenged to do a Pinter play or a Shakespeare and feels that now is the time to take up such a challenge because the company is mature enough to do so – this production marks 10 years of Unifaun productions.

This particular play was chosen because of its originality. Buckle notes how, when choosing scripts, he goes for those that speak honestly about today’s society. And that is exactly what Old Times does.

“This is Pinter at his best,” he notes. “This play will take the audience on an interesting trip and will lead them and mislead them throughout. It is full of the so-called Pinteresque tensions and the actors will have to deal with different dramatic moments.”

Buckle speaks highly of his cast – Pia Zammit, Mikhail Basmadijan and Laura Best – who fit the characters perfectly.

Interestingly, Zammit and Basmadijan, together with director Chris Gatt, are the same trio with whom Buckle has been through the Stitching saga.

The play had been banned by the local classification board, backed by the civil court and the constitutional court that declared that blasphemy and vulgar language should not be tolerated in a public performance.

Maltese audiences want to be entertained, but they don’t want to be cheated

Unifaun have now taken their case to the European Court of Human Rights where they are currently awaiting for their case to be accepted and eventually heard.

We discuss the approach director Chris Gatt is taking with this play. Taking off from the fact that this is a dream play, Gatt will work with the concept of the audience not knowing whether the characters are for real and what their intentions are.

In Old Times the characters speak of their memories but, as the play moves along, we start learning that these memories are not all based on reality or things that actually happened.

At one point we also learn that there might have been a murder, but who was the murderer and who was murdered?

“Gatt is aiming to underline this ambiguity, also in set design (which will be in the hands of the celebrated Romualdo Moretti) and in the style of acting. Lighting and soundscape too will reflect this ambiguity.”

And, speaking of ambiguity, what is the most difficult aspect about staging such a play?

“The difficult part is that you can’t risk to get it wrong.  If the acting and direction are not honest, then you lose the audience and the show becomes one boring venture.  However, if played right, this is one exhilarating experience,” says Buckle.

In this play there is a wall between reality and fantasy that is pulled down and through which the audience is left wondering what has actually happened.

Old Times is a play about memories. However, Buckle recalls Pinter’s phrase that “we remember things that have happened and things that might have happened and things that we think have happened”.

Buckle explains how in the play Anna and Deely compete for Kate’s attention. They do this by recounting their experiences. We suddenly start realising that the two have not just met, as originally suggested, but have had some experiences together.

When denouement is almost reached there is a new development with Kate stating that she had killed one of them.  This leads us to wonder. How can they all be talking together if one of them was murdered?

Intrigued? This sounds like a play that will get audiences talking. And this is exactly what Buckle likes about doing theatre in Malta.

“The audiences are generally receptive and open to new experiences,” he says. Those who know Buckle know he does not shy away from being blunt, and he does add that there are those “who have no idea what theatre is about”.

However, he says, you can experiment and Maltese audiences will appreciate, adding that “many think that Maltese audiences only want to laugh.  I think that is a misconception.  Maltese audiences want to be entertained, but they don’t want to be cheated.”

Old Times will be staged on March 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22 at 8pm at St James Cavalier, Valletta.

www.unifauntheatre.com