Harold Pinter’s chaotic bleakly humorous play, The Homecoming, is bought to life once more by a stellar cast in this five-star production. 

Set against Liz Ashcroft’s set, a backdrop of a North London house with green-grey flock wallpaper that stretches all the way up to the ceiling creating the illusion of the high ceilings that were common places in the early 1900 terrace houses, it is a delightfully simple yet effective set and never needs to be more than that as the actors take centre stage. 

Keith Allen plays a devilishly poisonous patriarch in Max, hitting his brother and switching his mood and spitting venomous language at will. He holds court from his armchair and bullies his brother Sam (Ian Bartholomew) and attempts to do the same to sons Lenny (Matthew Horne) and Joey (Geoffrey Lumb). 

Director Jamie Glover manages to use the intimacy of the set to reel in the preposterous parts of the piece and create a fine equilibrium between humour and menace. The use of tableaux between each scene with dramatic music adds to the mood of the piece, with the blue lighting providing a chill.

Geoffrey Lumb plays Joey, as a character similar to Lenny from Of Mice and Men, with a surly frame but a simple nature allowing for pathos towards him as the youngest in the family. When Teddy (played by Sam Alexander) comes home with his wife Ruth (Shanaya Rafaat), we are presented with a brother who is clearly well educated and thinks that he is better than the others. His psychology background comes across and Alexander plays Teddy with a certain blackness about him. 

Stealing the show are Horne as Lenny and Rafaat as Ruth. The chemistry and rapport that they have together is portrayed wonderfully on the stage. Lenny showcasing that he can be as smart as his brother but, equally, has a straight-talking side that can turn on a pin. The patter and speed of conversation between the two is a delight and makes for more entertaining viewing. 

Rafaat bewilders and leads the men of the piece astray with her forthright and strong portrayal of Ruth, never getting anything less than what she wants. She strikes a very fine balance with Ruth playing her on the right side of likeable, without being too domineering within the piece. 

The play, often touted as Pinter’s finest, has assembled a cast which only proves how fine the piece of work actually is. The acting showcased in the play is second to none and it is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. 

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Emma Rooney

The Homecoming plays at Cambridge Arts Theatre until 16 April, with tickets available here.