Betrayal is a play written by Harold Pinter in 1978. Critically regarded as one of the English playwright's major dramatic works, it features his characteristically economical dialogue, characters' hidden emotions and veiled motivations, and their self-absorbed competitive one-upmanship, face-saving, dishonesty, and (self-) deceptions.Billington 257–67; cf. performance review by Bryden 204–06 and review essay by Merritt 192–99; see also film reviews by Canby and Ebert.
Inspired by Pinter's clandestine extramarital affair with BBC Television presenter Joan Bakewell, which spanned seven years, from 1962 to 1969,Billington 257–58, 264–67; cf. the memoir by Bakewell, which includes two chapters on her relationship and affair with Pinter. the plot of Betrayal integrates different permutations of betrayal relating to a seven-year affair involving a married couple, Emma and Robert, and Robert's "close friend" Jerry, who is also married, to a woman named Judith. For five years, Jerry and Emma carry on their affair without Robert's knowledge, both cuckolding Robert and betraying Judith, until Emma, without telling Jerry she has done so, admits her infidelity to Robert (in effect, betraying Jerry), although she continues their affair. In 1977, four years after exposing the affair (in 1973) and two years after their subsequent break up (in 1975), Emma meets Jerry to tell him that her marriage to Robert is over. She then lies to Jerry in telling him that, "last night", she had to reveal the truth to Robert and that he now knows of the affair. The truth, however, is that Robert has known about the affair for the past four years.
Pinter's particular usage of reverse chronology in structuring the plot is innovative: the first two scenes take place after the affair has ended, in 1977; the final scene ends when the affair begins, in 1968; and, in between 1977 and 1968, scenes in two pivotal years (1977 and 1973) move forward chronologically.For an analysis of the plot structure, see Quigley 230–31. As Roger Ebert observes, in his review of the 1983 film, based on Pinter's own screenplay, "The Betrayal structure strips away all artifice. In this view, the play shows, heartlessly, that the very capacity for love itself is sometimes based on betraying not only other loved ones, but even ourselves." Still, drawing on the frequently commented influence of Proust's In Search of Lost Time and Pinter's work on 1977's The Proust Screenplay on Betrayal, more emotionally complex interpretations are possible based on a stress on dual motions, one forward in calendar time toward disillusion and one backward toward the redemptive recovery of time, in each work, backward particularly toward the plays conclusion with an ecstatic expression of romantic exaltation by Jerry.
Setting London and Venice, from 1968 to 1977 (in reverse chronology).Pinter specifies the location in the stage directions describing each scene, as given in the plot summary. According to his initialed note on the same page, "Betrayal can be performed without an interval, or with an interval after Scene Four" (n. pag. ).
Synopsis The years between 1968 and 1977 occur in reverse order; scenes within years 1977 and 1973 move forward.
1977 Scene One: Pub. 1977. Spring. Emma and Jerry meet for the first time in two years. For seven years they had an affair and a secret flat, and Jerry says no one else knew. Now Emma is having an affair with Casey, an author whose agent is Jerry and whose publisher is Robert, Emma's husband. Emma says she found out last night that Robert has betrayed her with other women for years, and admits she revealed her affair with Jerry. Scene Two: Jerry's House. Later the same day. Jerry meets Robert to talk about the affair. Robert reveals that in fact he learned about it four years ago. Since then their friendship has continued, albeit without playing squash. 1975 Scene Three: Flat. 1975. Winter. It is the end of Jerry and Emma's affair. They rarely meet, and Emma's hopes that the flat would be a different kind of home are unfulfilled. They agree to give it up. 1974 Scene Four: Robert and Emma's House. Living room. 1974. Autumn. Jerry visits Robert and Emma at home. He reveals that Casey has left his wife and is living nearby. Jerry and Robert plan to play squash, but Jerry reveals that first he is visiting New York with Casey. 1973 Scene Five: Hotel Room. 1973. Summer. Robert and Emma are on holiday, intending to visit Torcello tomorrow. Emma is reading a book by Spinks, another author whose agent is Jerry. Robert says he refused to publish it because there is not much more to say about betrayal. Robert has discovered that Emma has received a private letter from Jerry. Emma admits they are having an affair. Scene Six: Flat. 1973. Summer. Emma has returned from the holiday with Robert in Venice. She has bought a tablecloth for the flat. Jerry reveals that despite the affair he continues to lunch with Robert. Scene Seven: Restaurant. 1973. Summer. Robert gets drunk over lunch with Jerry. He says he hates modern novels, and that he went to Torcello on his own and read Yeats. 1971 Scene Eight: Flat. 1971. Summer. Emma wants to know whether Jerry's wife suspects his affair, and announces that while Jerry was in America she became pregnant with Robert's child. 1968 Scene Nine: Robert and Emma's House. Bedroom. 1968. Winter. During a party Jerry surprises Emma in her bedroom and declares his love for her. He tells Robert he is his oldest friend as well as his best man.
Cast and characters Emma - Robert's wife and Jerry's lover Jerry - A successful literary agent in 1970s London. Robert - Emma's husband and Jerry's oldest friend. Waiter In 1977 Emma is 38, and Jerry and Robert are 40. (n. pag. ). Notable productions CharactersWest End debut Broadway debut Broadway revivalBroadway revivalWest End revivalBroadway revivalGoodman revival1978198020002013201920192025 Emma Penelope Wilton Blythe Danner Juliette Binoche Rachel Weisz Zawe Ashton Helen Hunt Jerry Michael Gambon Raul Julia Liev Schreiber Rafe Spall Charlie Cox Robert Sean Leonard Robert Daniel Massey Roy Scheider John Slattery Daniel Craig Tom HiddlestonIan Barford Waiter Artro Morris Ernesto Gasco Mark Lotito Stephen DeRosa Eddie Arnold Nico Grelli
Productions England Betrayal was first produced by the National Theatre in London on 15 November 1978. The original cast featured Penelope Wilton as Emma, Michael Gambon as Jerry, Daniel Massey as Robert, and Artro Morris as the waiter; Wilton and Massey were married at the time. It was designed by John Bury and directed by Peter Hall.
In 1991, Betrayal ran at the Almeida Theatre directed by David Leveaux with Bill Nighy playing Jerry, Martin Shaw playing Robert and Cheryl Campbell playing Emma.
The play was revived in the Lyttleton at the National Theatre in November 1998, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Douglas Hodge, Imogen Stubbs, and Anthony Calf.
In 2003, Peter Hall directed a production of Betrayal at the Duchess Theatre starring Janie Dee, Aden Gillett, and Hugo Speer.
In 2007, Roger Michell staged a revival of Betrayal at the Donmar Warehouse theatre starring Toby Stephens as Jerry, Samuel West as Robert, and Dervla Kirwan as Emma. Pinter reportedly lunched with the actors, attended an early "readthrough" and provided some advice, which, according to Stephens, included the instruction to ignore some of Pinter's famous pauses (Lawson).
In 2011, a new West End production was mounted at the Comedy Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson and starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Douglas Henshall, and Ben Miles.
In 2019, Jamie Lloyd directed Tom Hiddleston as Robert, Zawe Ashton as Emma and Charlie Cox as Jerry in a revival of the play at The Harold Pinter Theatre.
Betrayal was revived at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield – from 17 May 2012 to 9 June 2012 – as the climax of Sheffield Crucible's 40th anniversary season. It starred John Simm as Jerry, Ruth Gemmell as Emma, Colin Tierney as Robert and Thomas Tinker as the waiter. Betrayal was performed at Brighton Fringe in 2019 by Pretty Villain Productions at The Rialto Theatre, receiving a 'Highly Recommended' review and a 5* review.
United States The American premiere took place on Broadway on 5 January 1980 at the Trafalgar Theatre, and ran for 170 performances until it closed on 31 May 1980. The show was directed by Peter Hall, was designed by John Bury, the production stage manager was Marnel Sumner, the stage manager was Ian Thomson, and press was by Seymour Krawitz and Patricia McLean Krawitz. Raul Julia starred as Jerry, Blythe Danner as Emma, Roy Scheider as Robert, Ian Thomson as the Barman, and Ernesto Gasco as the Waiter.
A 2000 Broadway revival was staged at the American Airlines Theatre with Juliette Binoche, Liev Schreiber, and John Slattery.
A 2013 revival directed by Mike Nichols, starring Daniel Craig as Robert, Rachel Weisz as his wife Emma (they were in fact married to each other), and Rafe Spall as Jerry, ran from October 2013 to January 2014 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, and set the Broadway record for highest weekly gross the week ending 19 December 2013. It was also the last production that Nichols would ever direct.
The 2019 West End production directed by Jamie Lloyd transferred to Broadway, once again starring Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox. It ran at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with previews beginning 14 August 2019, and the official opening on 5 September 2019, closing its limited run on 8 December 2019.
A 2025 revival was staged at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago from February 8 to March 30, 2025, starring Helen Hunt, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ian Barford.
A 2025 revival with immersive visuals and music was staged at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre in Los Angeles from August 21 to August 25, 2025, starring Ainsley Bubbico, Peter Porte, and Drew Rausch. It was directed by Brendan Pollecutt and produced by Henrik P. Molin.
International In 1980, director Bill Alexander mounted the play at the Cameri Theatre, Tel Aviv. Translator: Avraham Oz; with Oded Teomi as Jerry, Gita Munte as Emma, and Ilan Dar as Robert. In 2004, Theatre de R&DTheatre de R&D staged Betrayals Cantonese version as the first production of this theatrical group. With the script translated to Chinese by Lucretia Ho, this production was directed by Yankov Wong, starring Lucretie Ho as Emma, Johnny Tan as Jerry, Karl Lee as Robert, and Kenneth Cheung as the Waiter. A reader's theatre format of Betrayal was produced by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and directed by Yankov Wong on 6 March 2010. In September 2010, theatrical group We Draman put the show on stage with a translated script by Cancer Chong, featuring renowned stage actress Alice Lau as Emma. Staged in 2007 by the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), the play featured Bernice Chauly (Emma), Vernon Adrian Emuang (Robert), and Ari Ratos (Jerry), and was directed by filmmaker James Lee.