Seeing a Harold Pinter play is like being taken to a dinner party where you know no one except the person who brought you. Then that person leaves when you're not looking, and a dispute ensues between the other guests that has clearly been years in the making. You pick up clues about what's happening, but a lot goes unsaid -- and you're in no position to ask for clarification. You're free to leave, but you stay. Eventually enough is revealed that you gain a vague knowledge, even if it's something about humanity you wish you hadn't learned. Such is the case with The Homecoming, currently at American Conservatory Theatre.
Teddy is a philosophy professor who has left London for the U.S. He returns to his childhood home after being gone for years, accompanied by his attractive wife Ruth. At home are his dad (Max, a retired butcher) and his Uncle Sam. Also present are his two brothers: Lenny, who may or may not be a pimp, and Joey, a boxer who demolishes things for a living. Can you see where this is going? You probably can't, because Ruth is far from innocent. She feeds the sexual tension as the men compete furiously for her affection and attention, contributing to an ending you won't see coming. It's no surprise that New Yorker critic John Lahr said seeing the play changed his life. "Before, I thought theater was about the spoken," he wrote. "[A]fter, I understood the eloquence of the unspoken." The Homecoming continues through March 27 at A.C.T. Admission is $7.50-$83.For more events in San Francisco this week and beyond, check out our calendar section.
