| “One
for the Road,” presented first in London and then at the Pinter
Festival in New York, is a much darker play. Lasting only
45 minutes, it concerns an interrogation by whiskey-drinking Nicholas
(Harold Pinter), the brutal head of the secret police in an unnamed
country, which could be anywhere. “The voice of God speaks
through me,” proclaims the ruthless Nicholas, determined “to keep
the world clean for God.” He betrays little emotion as he
interviews his hapless victims who are tortured offstage: ironically-named
Victor (Stephen Brennan), wife Gila (Brid Brennan), and child
Nicky. The horror, suggests Pinter, is ongoing, as
indicated in the daily press.
|