Harold Pinter’s 1978 play employs a reverse-chronological structure to tell the story of an
extra-marital affair. Inspired by Pinter’s own seven-year affair with Joan Bakewell – who
would also write a play, Keeping in Touch, in order to tell her side of the story – Betrayal is a
three-hander in which a number of different betrayals are shown to take place.
Emma is having an affair with Jerry, a close friend of her husband, Robert. Jerry is also
married, to Judith. For five years this relationship is clandestine, but then Emma confesses
her infidelity to Robert – producing another betrayal in the context of the play.
The scenes unfold in reverse order. The play starts in 1977, when Jerry and Emma meet in a
pub for the first time since the affair had ended two years previously. It’s a scene of restraint
and melancholy; the pain is only semi-softened by the passing of time. The play’s final scene
ends when the affair begins, in 1968, at a party in which Jerry declares his love for Emma.
There are nine scenes in all. Emma and Jerry acquire a small London flat in which to
conduct their affair. The pivotal scene takes place in a hotel room in Venice where Robert
and Emma are on holiday. Robert discovers Emma has received a letter from Jerry, and
Emma admits she’s been having an affair with him.
Both the affair and Robert and Jerry’s friendship continue after this, though the relationship
between all of them has altered. The play’s particular chronology lends an extra emotional
weight to each scene. The audience knows where the characters are headed and the impact
of their choices on all of their lives. The dialogue is typically economical, but Pinter loads it
with meaning and power-play between all three characters.