The Midnight Company

The Arts STL

A Summer of Midnight | A preview of Midnight Company’s summer 2024 season with creative director Joe Hanrahan

by Rob Von Nordheim / July 14, 2024

When midnight falls on St. Louis, a new world reveals itself.

With over 27 years of experience, The Midnight Company is one of the longest-running independent theater companies in the city. As creative director and actor Joe Hanrahan recalls: “When we first opened up, there was the Rep and…that was pretty much it!” The company’s diverse repertoire includes comedies, dramas, one acts, and cabaret shows. They simply love to tell stories, whether they’re serious or humorous, spoken or sung.

2024 has been a year of songs, stories, and celebration for the Midnight Company. Hanrahan’s cabaret shows had long, successful runs at the Blue Strawberry Lounge (364 N. Boyle Ave.). He’s particularly proud of Just One Look, a variety show featuring the music of Linda Ronstadt. Ronstadt, a musical traveler who earned fame in the worlds of country, rock, Latin, and opera, is an inspiration for the Midnight Company.

Just One Look will be back by popular demand on August 22. The role of Linda will be reprised by Kelly Howe, who also performs in Midnight’s summer project: Harold Pinter’s Old Times. The play’s title conjures up feelings of nostalgia and rose-tinted visions of the past, but its story is anything but cheery or simple. According to Hanrahan, who also has a part in Old Times, “this is the story of a man who’s jealous of his wife… and those feelings are barely hidden under some strange dialogue. Nobody uses language quite like Pinter.”

Old Times will be performed at the Chapel on 6238 Alexander Dr. The venue is located on the grounds of Memorial Presbyterian Church and it provides a stark contrast to the Blue Strawberry—spare, somber, and somewhat gothic. The difference between these two venues reflects the dual nature of the Midnight Company, which will perform serious dramatic works and joyful musical variety shows in the same season.

Hanrahan acknowledges that the musicals tend to attract a bigger crowd and help to fund Midnight’s other projects. “You have to compete with that Fox and Muny crowd,” he jokes. Nonetheless, he maintains the same level of care and quality for each production. Every performance—comedy, tragedy, musical, or in-between—is part of the Midnight Theater vision.

Broadway World

Midnight Company Presents Harold Pinter's OLD TIMES at At The Chapel

by James Lindhorst / July 13, 2024

Enjoying the works of Harold Pinter can be like acquiring the taste for bourbon. For some, the first drink will be their last. They will find bourbon distasteful with an uncomfortable burn. Others will learn to appreciate the nuances of the flavor and the way it feels on the tongue. Tasting will become a passion and the drinker will sit back and just let the notes unfold. A Pinter play is much like that, the theatergoer needs to sit back, let the text unfold, and see where it takes you.

The Midnight Company is currently serving up a taste of Pinter’s OLD TIMES at The Chapel. In OLD TIMES, married couple Deely and Kate are awaiting the arrival of Kate’s friend Anna for a visit at their English coastal farmhouse. Kate exhibits a bit of awkward nervousness about Anna’s visit, and Deeley’s interrogation about their relationships adds to Kate’s anxiety. Once she arrives, Anna and Deeley have frank conversation about Kate thereby increasing her discomfort. Kate does not speak often, and when she does, it is only to say, “You speak of me as if I were dead.”

Sarah Lynne Holt directs Midnight Company’s OLD TIMES and elicits authentic portrayals from Colleen Backer (Kate), Joe Hanrahan (Deeley) and Kelly Howe (Anna). The three actors deliver Pinter’s dialogue with chatty colloquialism, take it to the brink of discomfort, and then wallow in uncomfortable silence.

For the entirety of the first act, Kate mostly observes and listens while Deeley and Anna discuss their relationships with her. Backer is taxed with the chore of acting without dialogue and she is magnificent. Her glances, expressions, and closed off posture with turned-in feet convey a reticence about her former relationship with Anna.

Howe’s Anna is a bit of a whirling dervish, filled with vivacious energy. Seems she is still the sociable reveler that she was when she and Kate shared an apartment. Anna’s almost badgering in her efforts to reconnect with Kate and reminisce about their time together. She approaches her conversations with Deeley with much greater caution. Howe is equally terrific with her characterization and her ability to milk what are often called the ‘Pinter pauses.’

Harahan’s Deeley is both inquisitive and a bit lecherous injecting Pinter’s dated perversions and ideas of masculinity. Hanrahan’s line delivery is well paced and matches the genuineness of Backer and Howe’s conversations. The naturalism of the trio’s portrayals is more akin to eavesdropping than watching actors performing.

Holt's direction is sharp. Backer, Hanrahan and Howe’s snappy line delivery, awkward silence, and discernible discomfort make for fantastic performances. But Pinter’s script is just too murky for my taste. Kate and Anna’s relationship is hazy. What happened between them remains vague. Deeley’s acquaintance with Anna is ambiguous. Everything is veiled and nothing is revealed. All are the literary conventions that are the hallmarks of Pinter’s writing, but for me, the nebulous conclusion was not satisfying. If OLD TIMES were my first sip of bourbon, it would likely be my last.

Two on Aisle / HEC

Old Times at The Midnight Company

by Gerry Kowarsky / July, 2024

Harold Pinter’s plays challenge us to make sense of them. They always leave empty spaces that we are compelled to fill. Such is clearly the case with Old Times, the Pinter play currently at The Midnight Company. It has three characters, which always presents that challenge of how do you arrange things, two against one, one against two, sides shifting. As the title points out, the play is about old times, the past, what we remember of it. Pinter said, “The past is what you remember, imagine you remember, convince yourself you remember, or pretend you remember.”

Kate and Deeley are married. They are being visited by an old friend Anna, with whom Kate once shared an apartment, twenty years ago. All three are now in their forties. Deeley says he has never before met Anna. Later, when Kate is taking a bath, Deeley says he had known Anna, twenty years ago, and went to a party with her. Anna claims not to know what he is talking about. When Kate returns, she has little to say, but Anna and Deeley almost seem to be competing for her attention. Kate doesn’t confirm the stories of either Anna or Deeley about what happened twenty years ago, but she does say to Anna, “I remember you dead.”

What was that about?

As happens with Pinter, people try to answer the question, all the questions, even suggesting that Kate and Anna are different personalities of the same person.

Why not?

Why?

Another Pinter comment: “A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.”

An actor has to decide what the truth of a character is and how to play that truth, even if it is false. Such is done very well by director Sarah Lynne Holt and the three actors at Midnight.

Joe Hanrahan as Deeley is in the minority, and we can see him struggling to find a way to defend his masculinity, not always successfully. Kelly Howe’s Anna is a guest, watching her step sometimes, perhaps hoping to restore the relationship she once had with Kate. Keep an eye on Colleen Backer’s Kate. She knows the other two are competing for her. She likes that. But should she let them know she likes that? Backer plays it all beautifully; so much is going on with Kate, so much Backer shows us, so much she doesn’t show us. It is all very smartly done and clearly performed.

Lucy Bowe is the Midnight Company’s Stage Manager. Chuck Winning designed the very compact two sets in the Chapel. Tony Anselmo did the lighting, Kayla Dressman the costumes, and Liz Henning is the Production Manager.

So another Pinter puzzle to keep our brains spinning.

The Arts STL

The Midnight Company presents Old Times

by Rob Von Nordheim/ July 17, 2024

A converted farmhouse. Autumn. Night.

The story begins in a living room. Kate (Colleen Backer) is sitting on the sofa; her husband, Deely (Joe Hanrahan), is some distance away in an armchair. He’s grilling Kate about her old friend, Anna (Kelly Howe), who will arrive any minute. Anna once lived with Kate and was her only friend. Oddly, Kate has never mentioned Anna before. As Deely peppers Kate with questions, it becomes unclear how well the couple even knows each other.

The play’s title conjures up feelings of nostalgia and rose-tinted visions of the past, but its story is anything but cheery or simple. According to Hanrahan (who is also creative director for Midnight Theater Company): “Old Times is the story of a man who’s jealous of his wife… and those feelings are barely hidden under some strange dialogue. Nobody uses language quite like Pinter.”

Old Times was written by British postmodern playwright Harold Pinter. His best-known works include The Birthday Party (1957) and his screenplay for the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981). Pinter is famous for simmering psychodramas and experiments with perspective and language. From political thrillers to domestic dramas, Pinter’s characters often conceal their true intentions beneath seemingly banal and non-sequitur dialogue. The unreliability and corruptibility of memory is a recurring theme.

In Old Times, what begins as a domestic drama morphs into a metaphysical journey. Kate, Deely, and Anna carry on with a quiet desperation that is quintessentially British. It’s only a matter of time until that pressure is released.

The premise of Old Times is easy to understand, but the narrative takes some surreal detours. Audiences may be bemused by speeches on the proper way to dry after a bath, or questions like “who wore whose underwear, and when?” The subtext is clear enough: there is some distrust between Anna and Deely and some erotic tension between all three characters. Deely and Anna compete for Kate’s attention and affection, but Kate is unwilling or unable to make the connection they both desire.

At one point, Anna and Deely try to kickstart Kate’s memory with oldies, trading lines from “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” A recording of the Gershwin chestnut is also heard at the beginning of the play and it makes for a great leitmotif. The play’s characters are fixated on seemingly trivial details from the past, like the time they saw 1947 thriller Odd Man Out; but as the story unfolds, they seem unsure of who they are, how they know each other, if they know each other. The musical interlude also plays to the strengths of Hanrahan and Howe, who both perform in cabaret shows.

This is director Sarah Lynne Holt’s fifth show with Midnight Theater Company. She reflects on the message and meaning of Old Times:

“We’ve all had the experience of harkening back to a crystal clear memory…only to find someone who shares it thinks the details were totally different. Or maybe they don’t think we were there at all. With Old Times, Pinter not only takes us on a trip through the characters’ shared past (which might not be so shared after all), but asks the question, ‘If the past is so uncertain, are we really any more certain of the present?’ Just like when reminiscing, I hope people can leave this production debating what really happened. And I sort of hope they don’t find it too easy to agree…”

Old Times will be performed at the Chapel on 6238 Alexander Dr. The venue is located on the grounds of Memorial Presbyterian Church and it perfectly suits the play. The actors seem uncomfortably close on the small stage and the audience is mere inches away. The actors’ strong deliveries are enhanced by the churchlike acoustics of the small space. The blue-red stained glass windows also lend a certain beauty and profundity to the event.

Ladoue News

Curious, thought-provoking dramas are ‘Old Times’ for St. Louis' The Midnight Company

by Mark Bretz / July 15, 2024

Story: Married couple Deeley and Kate are relaxing in the living room of their converted farmhouse, an idyllic setting not too far from the madding crowd of London. Deeley is doing most of the talking as they await the visit of Kate’s old friend, Anna, whom Kate reveals used to steal her underwear 20 years ago when they shared a London flat. Kate says that Anna was her only friend, although Anna had many friends. Deeley says he has never met Anna.

When Anna arrives, Deeley regales her and Kate with the story of how he met Kate, whom he saw at a cinema showing the 1947 film noir, “Odd Man Out.” Later, Deeley invited Kate to coffee. For her part, Kate continues to sit passively while Deeley is talking, saying very little in response either to Deeley or Anna, who mentions that Kate used to let her borrow Kate’s underwear.

One night, recalls Anna, she was at a party where a man looked up her skirt. Later, while Kate is taking a bath, Deeley pointedly tells Anna that he and Anna met 20 years ago at a party where he looked up her skirt. He was intrigued by her, but Anna just laughs that off, neither confirming nor denying that it ever happened.

Anna does recall, though, that one night she came home to the London flat she shared with Kate to find a young man, face hidden by his hands, crying in a chair while Kate sat nearby, saying nothing. Anna then went to bed, followed shortly thereafter by Kate. The young man soon came into their bedroom, standing over Anna while she ignored him, then going to Kate’s bed and laying on top of her before he left.

Kate’s most notable response to any of this is to say that, one night, she came home to the London flat she shared with Anna and had found Anna dead in Anna’s bed. A man arrived and Kate told the man that Anna’s bed was empty, and he wondered whether Kate would sleep with him in the empty bed. Kate’s reaction wasn’t what he expected.

Highlights: The Midnight Company offers its interpretation of what it calls one of playwright Harold Pinter’s “most challenging plays, and one of his best,” in a smart, stylish, pensive presentation performed by its clever cast under Sarah Lynne Holt’s inquisitive direction.

Other Info: Renowned 20th century English playwright Harold Pinter once was called “undoubtedly the most influential and important craftsman in English theatre” by The Times Literary Supplement. The New York Times referred to “Old Times,” which premiered in London in 1971, as “vintage Pinter, delicate and musical. It will enchant, stimulate and delight all those people Pinter customarily enchants, stimulates and delights.”

Pinter is a master of the “pregnant pauses,” intervals spanning the dialogue between his characters which often say more than the words themselves. “Old Times,” a two-act drama that is performed in less than two hours, is “delicate and musical,” as The Times indicates above.

Its dialogue is peppered with quick phrases, followed by pauses of various length which are engineered by The Midnight’s intuitive trio of players: artistic director Joe Hanrahan as Deeley, Colleen Backer as Kate and Kelly Howe as Anna. Each of the three digs into the complexities of their characters with glances or blank stares or telling non-responses, depending upon the scene and situation.

Backer’s Kate has the most pronounced character arc, going from milquetoast bland and timid in the first act to manipulative, snarky and commanding after the intermission. Howe’s performance is well measured as the amiable Anna, who says as much with a quiet, albeit smiling, look as with Anna’s curious responses to the conversation. As Deeley, Hanrahan shows how his character moves from confident to vulnerable to fearful as Deeley’s arrogance steadily crumbles.

Holt maintains a tense level of palpable menace in the show, moving her players through their characters’ rounds of uncertainty, indifference and thinly veiled contempt. The production is performed on Chuck Winning’s charmingly fashioned living room, with a large window in the background and a quick transformation to a functional bedroom.

Tony Anslemo’s lighting is brooding and eerie at times, echoing Pinter’s dramatic moods, while Kayla Dressman’s costume design suitably reflects the three disparate character personalities.

So, what does it all mean? That’s what Anthony Hopkins asked Pinter when Hopkins starred in a production by the Roundabout Theatre Company in 1984 opposite Jane Alexander and Marsha Mason. Pinter’s response? “I don’t know. Just do it.” Pinter also has been quoted as saying, “The past is what you remember, imagine you remember, convince yourself you remember, or pretend you remember.”

The Midnight Company’s classy, curious and thought-provoking rendition of “Old Times” is a treat for Pinter aficionados, offering a myriad of interpretations. Any of which may be right, or wrong.

Snoop Theatre thoughts

by Michelle Kenyon ("Snoop") / July, 2024

Theatre comes in all types and styles, from light and entertaining to more intellectually challenging; from straightforward in story to more obscure. Harold Pinter’s Old Times is not one of those more obscure, challenging shows. It’s one of those plays you can write academic essays about, or debate interpretations of while still not being entirely sure what’s going on. It also doesn’t have much in the way of action, consisting mainly of conversation and reflection. This complex, fascinating, unsettling show is the latest production from The Midnight Company, currently being staged at The Chapel with deliberately paced, thoughtful direction, and a cast that is giving their all.

Old Times is characterized as one of Pinter’s “memory plays”, and the concept of memory looms large, since much of the “action” is driven by recollection and reflection of things that supposedly happened twenty years before. As the play begins, married couple Kate (Colleen Backer) and Deeley (Joe Hanrahan) are recalling Kate’s old friend Anna (Kelly Howe), who is due to visit soon after an absence of many years, since Anna has apparently been living abroad. Much is said concerning the contrasting personalities of the two women–the more reserved, isolated Kate and the more outgoing, fun-loving Anna. Deeley claims to never have met Anna, but that claim is called into question later after Anna arrives. There’s a lot of talking and “remembering”–discussing various events such as Anna’s and Kate’s exploits attending various events in London, and Deeley’s first meeting and developing relationship with Kate.

There are several recurring themes, and various events and situations are brought up repeatedly, and the tension among the three becomes more palpable and disturbing, leading to a somewhat ambiguous ending that can be interpreted a few different ways.

That’s about all I can say about the plot without spoiling, but I will say that this is an especially talky play, and it requires full attention to follow the recurring themes and try to figure out what exactly is going on. The characters are an enigma, and they aren’t easily likable. The story seems more to be an exploration of the various personalities and power balances in the relationships. It’s Pinter at his most obscure, and it could easily come across as detached and boring if not paced or performed well.

Kudos for this production go to director Sarah Lynne Holt and the cast for deliberately measured, well thought-out staging and performances, with as much being communicated in the silences between words as in the lines themselves. The three performers work together well, with a palpable awkwardness and tension that grows throughout the production, and well-defined portrayals of the characters. Kate is perhaps the most enigmatic character, and Backer’s performance highlights a calculated aloofness and underlying reflectiveness. Howe, as the more talkative, outgoing Anna, imbues her characterization with a sense of insistent ingratiation, and Hanrahan’s Deeley has an air of self- aggrandizement and objectification. The three play off of one another with convincing chemistry, lending energy to the proceedings even when its degree of verbosity threatens to veer into the overly obtuse.

The look and atmosphere of this production is augmented by a strong sense of aesthetic, with Chuck Winning’s simple but effective set and Kayla Dressman’s well-suited costume design help set the scene and mood well. There’s also excellent lighting from Tony Anselmo and a memorable use of music in between scenes.

Overall, this might not be a show for all audiences, considering its enigmatic, talky nature, but as staged by The Midnight Company, Old Times provides much food for thought, with a well- measured tension and strong performances. It’s Pinter, so it’s going to be odd, but it’s odd in an intriguing way. It’s a short play, even with an intermission, but there’s a lot to be said here, and in the hands of a talented director and cast, it’s worth a look, a listen, and a whole lot of thought.

Marquee by Marquis

by Cate Marquis / July 25, 2024

The Midnight Company’s production of Harold Pinter’s drama “Old Times” centers on a married couple welcoming the long-ago best friend of the wife, someone she has not seen in twenty years, into their home. The expectation is that the women will reminiscence about old times in London and the old friend will meet the husband, and reconnect. But the evening of witty chat starts to take a stranger, darker turn, with enigmatic exchanges and revelations, where memories are in dispute and secrets are exposed.

Any theater group in this city deserves applause for presenting a drama in musical-mad St. Louis, and Pinter’s “Old Times” provides a real treat for those of us who crave a meaty drama. But the Midnight Company goes beyond expectations with this production, which has a masterful cast and a near-perfect set by Chuck Winning despite its tiny but comfortable performance space at The Chapel.

Harold Pinter’s works are known for being engrossing if enigmatic, works that include plays like “The Birthday Party,” and “The Homecoming” and movie scripts like “The Go-Between” and “The French Lieutenant’s Woman.” “Old Times” fits exactly into that enigmatic and intriguing wheelhouse, the kind of play that engages the audience with engrossing human situations, intriguing characters, sharp dialog with a bit of biting humor, but leaves us with questions about what we saw, something to discuss after the show. It is a production sure to please Pinter fans.

Kate (Colleen Backer) and her husband Deeley (Joe Hanrahan) are preparing for the arrival of her long-ago best friend Anna (Kelly Howe) in their home in the English countryside near the ocean. Kate has not seen Anna for maybe twenty years. As they wait, Deeley asks her about her friend and Kate reveals that Anna was not only her best friend and roommate in London but her only friend back then, although Anna had other friends – lots of them, in fact. The two have not really stayed in touch, and Kate actually seems cool to the idea of this visit. We come to expect a brief, restrained visit, and a quick exit from the friend.

However, when Anna arrives, we find she is bubbly and warm, and she quickly embraces Kate. Kate seems to melt in that embrace, and after a quick introduction to husband Deeley, Anna quickly turns to Kate, lavishing adoring attention and praise on her as she recalls their shared life in London long ago. As we begin to wonder about the nature of their relationship, ignored Deeley becomes increasingly restless and jealous, both of his wife’s attention focused on the visitor and of the lively, charismatic visitor’s lack of attention on him. As Deeley strives to capture the attention of either or both women, Anna suddenly turns her warmth and attention to Deeley, although she still talks glowingly about Kate, while ignoring her completely. The switch prompts Kate to interject that they are talking about her as if she were dead.

It is a startling comment, and points out that Anna is indeed saying the kind of things one might say at a wake, and we begin to question what is really taking place before our eyes. In the second act, things get stranger and even take a darker turn into a frightening past.

Director Sarah Lynne Holt does a masterful job with this trio of characters in their intense dance. Each actor excels in creating a sharply drawn character. Kelly Howe as Anna comes into the room and takes it over with charisma and non-stop charming tales of the past, told with the skill of a polished storyteller and maybe a touch of a con. Colleen Backer is languid, preening and pleased to be admired by Anna and her husband, who becomes less nice as his jealousy rises. Joe Hanrahan is splendid as Deeley, a confident, sophisticated man who clearly is surprised and miffed not to be the center of attention of these two women, and sets out the change that, however he must. The witty banter, the shifting interpersonal dynamics, are darkly funny but with an undercurrent of sexual power struggles and frightening potential.

The mystery goes beyond the characters and which memories are real and which are mis-remembered. The play debuted in 1971 yet, puzzlingly, the old times Kate’s friend recalls seem to be from the early ’60s Swinging London, filled with art, music, theater and exhibits, with evenings of exciting nightlife and camaraderie in pubs. In Anna’s recalled memories, recounted to Kate and Deeley, all the past is a shining idyll, until the frustrated Deeley offers some of his own recollections of London long ago.

It all adds up to an enjoyable, stimulating evening, with a play that leaves you wondering about unanswered questions, puzzles to mull over and debate with your companions. Just as a good play should.

Pop Life STL

Murky ‘Old Times’ Lacks Heat In Midnight Company’s Take On Pinter

by Lynn Venhous / July 14, 2024

The playwright Harold Pinter made a long and distinguished career out of confounding people with odd plays featuring weird situations, convoluted dialogue, and peculiar characters. “Old Times,” written in 1971, is his freaky, flaky waltz down memory lane that never resolves anything but builds unnerving tension. It is one of his more divisive dramas.

When Roundabout Theatre Company was in rehearsals preparing for a revival in 1984, actor Anthony Hopkins asked Pinter to explain the play’s ending. He famously responded: “I don’t know. Just do it.”

OK, then. When the playwright intends to leave us hanging, it may be hard for a theatergoer to decipher, and there are plenty of theories about what really happened in this show. The point is caring enough to be satisfied with your highly personal observation.

This play is already a tall order for even the most accomplished artists, and unfortunately, is more frustrating than fulfilling in The Midnight Company’s latest presentation.

Director Sarah Lynne Holt has framed Pinter’s familiar enclosed space setting in a stripped-down theater-in-the-round style at The Chapel, where the audience is squished into a wedge of chairs where your view of the three actors may be limited.

That’s a detriment to absorbing the highly stylized delivery of the three actors where every non sequitur, riddle, pause and selected memory is supposedly fraught with meaning. And the sound isn’t consistent either, which makes it even harder to understand the disjointed patter.

The staging is clumsy, and while I realize it’s a low-budget production, the serving of tea is awkward, and the pouring of brandy into cordial glasses, not snifters, is puzzling.

Individually engaging performers — Colleen Backer as Kate, Kelly Howe as Anna, and Joe Hanrahan as Deeley, aren’t meant to be a cohesive trio, and their distance only raises more questions, as intended.

On the surface, it appears that a husband, Deeley, and a wife, Kate, are visited by her old friend and former roommate, Anna, from their carefree single days. They live remotely by the sea while she lives in Sicily but once lived in London. Kate and Anna haven’t seen each other in 20 years.

Well, that’s the story that they seem to be sticking with, and from the start, you can tell something is off kilter. Reality is blurred and recollections are tested in a most bizarre reconnection.

Vague on purpose, Howe hints that Anna has a swinger past and can still seduce, trying to be coquettish with both Kate and her husband.

The married couple don’t find that odd, nor do they appear to be what they seem. So, what kind of a charade is exactly going on?

While Backer and Howe are two evocative actresses — and it’s important to see their facial expressions if you can position yourself to do so, even their suggestive glances and knowing looks can’t convince us of any sexual heat between each other and Deeley.

And Deeley comes across as kind of pervy with his unfiltered accounts of sexual desire, conquests and previous hook-ups with these and other women. Is Hanrahan purposely playing him as creepy? We do discover his lounge lizard past.

The characters are all supposed to be in their 40s, and clearly, Hanrahan is not, even though he doesn’t look his age.

But one aspect that supposedly distinguishes other productions is sexual tension, as in the 2015 Broadway revival starring Clive Owen, Eve Best and Kelly Reilly, where critics repeatedly mentioned it. The heat is not evident here.

While that is an elusive quality, that addition could have been crucial to the audience buying into this scenario.

The women affect British accents while Hanrahan avoided it, so that’s another point that may bother you.

Pinter teases that there is something darker afoot. But the information is slim about their quirky characters the more the play goes on. Kate, who barely speaks, finally blurts out that she remembers her roommate being dead. Say what?

They may all be alive or dead, they all might be figments of someone’s imagination, and the way they reminisce about the past may be total fiction. Emotions are guarded and the characters don’t say what they mean. You wanted Pinteresque, and you got it.

If you are fascinated by his maddening style of doling out clues and pieces of information that may or may not wind up germane to the story, then you’ll invest the time to solve the puzzle.

If you are irritated by his overuse of pauses, or if you lack the patience to be convinced of anything not spelled out, then this material will let you down. It’s all in your perceptions.

Hailed as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, and is famous for “The Birthday Party,” “The Homecoming,” “Betrayal” and “The Caretaker.” He died at age 78 in 2008.

He tended to concentrate on isolation, fear and troubled personal relationships, creating an elliptical dialogue. He also liked to confuse time and space. Frequent descriptions of his work – unpredictable, unspecific, and combative – are apt.

Another choice is that Holt does little to guide the audience in a certain way, preferring to keep everyone guessing and debating afterwards instead. But according to the press release, she didn’t want to make it easy for people to agree on what happened.

The Emperor’s New Clothes or brilliant 20th century mind at work? You say subtle, I say pretentious.

I don’t find this material a good fit for the strengths of the award-winning veteran performers. They can, and have done, so much better. I usually enjoy watching them on stage, but Pinter’s obtuseness can only carry a show so far, especially when you feel disengaged.

The clock is ticking, and the play lasts 1 hour and 35 minutes with one intermission. Fatigue sets in when you realize they aren’t really saying much – and won’t

I am pretty sure no two people who see “Old Times” will agree on interpretations, and then again, there’s no one right answer.

The trick is caring. The murkiness is troubling, and if you are OK without a satisfactory resolution, that’s your prerogative.