Watching Theatre Du Jour’s production of The Dumb Waiter is like sitting back and enjoying Harold Pinter 101. This acclaimed early work of Pinter’s has all the markings of his eclectic pacing and style laced with bits of absurdism. In the hands of the seasoned Theatre Du Jour company led by B. Stanley as performer and director, the piece zings.
Coming across more like Laurel and Hardy than hitmen assassins, Jerry Herbilla and B. Stanley play Gus and Ben to the hilt. Stanley’s Ben looms large with his booming voice and commanding persona. Herbilla’s sideman Gus defers totally to Ben’s demands and taunts and doesn’t flinch even during Ben’s ferociously loud tirades. The two have an easy ebb and flow as they pass the time bantering with each other, with Ben reading the newspaper and Gus making a production out of tying his shoelaces and exiting to make tea that never appears.
The opening set-up is so still with the actors lounging around on narrow threadbare cots, it would almost feel like watching paint dry, except that the tension between the two is evident before a word is uttered. Once they start talking (or yelling) at each other about the bizarre items that Ben cites from the newspaper, it’s clear that they’re waiting for some kind of message from higher-ups to proceed with their jobs. The stakes start to ratchet up when they reveal shiny pistols at the ready, and even higher when the silence is broken by the loud rumblings of the dumb waiter that mysteriously starts sending messages to the anxious duo. Their antics in dealing with the unexpected twists of responding to requests for menu items infuse humor into a bleak, unsettling environment.
Pinter’s minimalist, somewhat jarring moments require mastery to successfully portray the characters. Stanley and Herbilla are up to the task of being so immersed in their quirky characters that their movements and utterances are filled to the brim with authenticity. Stanley is a standout coming across larger than life, seemingly with all the answers, cocky, self-assured, but with a slight shift in his eyes that lets you know he’s on the prowl while always alert to potentially being targeted himself. Herbilla’s Gus is the compliant yes-man, but he stands his ground with a quiet desperation that plays in beautiful counterpoint to Ben’s bombastic tirades.
What throws both guys off-kilter is the rambunctiously loud dumb waiter, wondrously designed and orchestrated by Alex Anthes Rojas (light/sound) and Jennifer Pineda (special effects), which functions almost like a character itself. The men are in a quandary trying to stay focused on their own Waiting for Godot–like existence, but then have the added burden of trying to figure out how to respond to the meaningless requests. Pinter pulls everyone into the intrigue, thumping the audience and characters in the final moments that bring everything crashing into a death spiral with laser focus. It’s a stunning work and can be appreciated even by fellow non-absurdists like me.
Theatre Du Jour has been around since the ’80s, carefully selecting shows that “maintain a sense of experiment and research throughout the entire process — from training to performance creation to the performance itself. Theatre Du Jour is not just experimental theatre; it is an experiment within theatre.” With only one show every year or so, each production is a rarity that must be grabbed in the moment. This production of The Dumb Waiter is a thought-provoking gem performed in an intimate setting that captures the essence of Pinter and the absurd, sometimes menacing, waiting in our own lives.
Running Time: 50 minutes with no intermission.
The Dumb Waiter plays through March 23, 2025 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm), presented by Theatre Du Jour performing at the DC Arts Center (DCAC) – 2438 18th Street, in Washington, DC. Tickets ($30 general admission; $25 for students and seniors) can be purchased online.
The Dumb Waiter
By Harold Pinter
CAST
Jerry Herbilla as Gus
B. Stanley as Ben
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: B. Stanley
Light/Sound Technician: Alex Anthes Rojas
Special Effects Technician: Jennifer Pineda
