‘Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter’: 2 darkly comic Pinter one–acts
open March 20 at the Odyssey in a visiting production
LOS ANGELES (February 12, 2026) — Veteran director Jack Heller (2023’s A Slight Ache, 2019’s A Streetcar Named Desire) returns to the Odyssey Theatre to helm a visiting production of Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter, an evening of two rarely staged Pinter one-acts—both darkly comic, both unmistakably unsettling. Opening night is set for March 20, with performances continuing through April 26.
In Party Time, affluent guests at a chic London gathering (John Coady, Larry Eisenberg, Michelle Ghatan, Brenda James, Isaac W. Jay, Paul Marius, Michelle McGregor, Christopher Louis Parker and Mouchette Van Helsdingen) trade gossip and brag about wealthy pursuits while, just beyond the half-open door, an unjust regime enforces “order” with brutal force.
In the second half of the evening, the tone shifts with The Lover. Susan Priver, who previously appeared at the Odyssey in Tennessee Williams’ Kingdom of Earth and A Streetcar Named Desire and in Pinter’s A Slight Ache (the latter two directed by Heller), stars as Sarah opposite Ron Bottitta, recently seen in Fatherland at the Fountain and Corktown ’39 at Rogue Machine, as Richard. A married couple, Sarah and Richard enliven their relationship by exchanging intimate accounts of their affairs—until Pinter’s sly, bittersweet twist reveals how fragile the boundaries between fantasy, power and desire truly are.
“Pinter has an extraordinary ability to make us laugh at the very moment we should be most afraid,” suggests Heller. “Party Time exposes the casual cruelty of power and privilege with chilling precision, while The Lover seduces us with wit and playfulness before quietly pulling the rug out from under our assumptions about intimacy and control. Presented together, these two one-acts feel less like separate plays and more like a single, unnerving conversation about how people use language, sometimes charmingly, sometimes violently, to get what they want.”
Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was one of the most influential, provocative and poetic dramatists of his generation. Inspired in part by Samuel Beckett, he created his own distinctive style, marked by terse dialogue and meaningful pauses. His plays are particularly famous for their use of understatement to convey characters’ thoughts and feelings. In 2005, Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The eccentric behavior and dialogue in Pinter’s plays are frequently very funny, and audiences laugh hard and long, yet there is an underlying feeling of danger in his plays, and critics frequently describe them as “comedies of menace.” We, the audience, have the same need for verification that the characters have, and Pinter artfully makes us experience their uneasiness. His plays are funny, but agitating.
The creative team for Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter includes scenic designer Joel Daavid, lighting designer Gavan Wyrick, sound designer Chrisropher Moscatiello, costume designer Shon LeBlanc and properties designer Sofia Alejandra Gonzalez. The stage manager is Valeria Ruuva, and the evening is produced by Brian Foyster and Christina Hart.
Performances of Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter take place Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m., March 20 through April 26. All tickets are $35. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025. For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 x 2 or go to OdysseyTheatre.com.
Details for Calendar Listings
‘Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter’
WHAT:
Veteran director Jack Heller is at the helm of Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter, an evening of two rarely staged Pinter one-acts—both darkly comic, both unmistakably unsettling—in this visiting production at the Odyssey Theatre. In Party Time, affluent guests at a chic London gathering trade gossip and brag about wealthy pursuits while, just beyond the half-open door, an unjust regime enforces “order” with brutal force. The Lover shifts the tone, as a married couple enlivens their relationship by exchanging intimate accounts of their affairs—until Pinter’s sly, bittersweet twist reveals how fragile the boundaries between fantasy, power and desire truly are.
WHO:
• Written by Harold Pinter
• Directed by Jack Heller
• Starring Ron Bottitta, John Coady, Larry Eisenberg, Michelle Ghatan, Brenda James, Isaac W. Jay, Paul Marius, Michelle McGregor, Christopher Louis Parker, Susan Priver, Mouchette Van Helsdingen
• Produced by Brian Foyster and Christina Hart
• Presented as a Visiting Production at the Odyssey Theatre
WHEN:
March 20 – April 26
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. / Sundays at 3 p.m.
WHERE:
A Visiting Production at the
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90025
TICKET PRICE:
$35
HOW:
OdysseyTheatre.com
(310) 477-2055 ext. 2
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