经济学人157:哈罗德品特的《昔日》

　　Harold Pinter's “Old Times”

哈罗德品特的《昔日》

Ah yes, I remember it well

是的，我都记得

A mysterious play about the tricks of memory returns to London

关于记忆之隙的神秘戏剧重登伦敦舞台

She says tomato, I say nothing

她说了番茄，我可什么也没说

HAROLD PINTER knew his way around silence. There is something dangerous about quiet on stage, as if it is a gap, an emptiness, a mistake. But Pinter, an English playwright 1 who died in 2008, understood these moments to be the essence of drama, charged and full of reckoning. Speech, on the other hand, was “a constant stratagem 2 to cover nakedness”, he once wrote. In his work the lapses 3 in dialogue can yawn on awkwardly, even oppressively, but they tend to be more expressive 4 than the words.

哈罗德品特深谙沉默之道。舞台上的沉默有某种危险性，仿佛一道裂缝，一种虚无，一个错误。然而故世于2008年的英国剧作家品特，却深深懂得：这些沉默时刻暗潮汹涌，蓄势待发，正是戏剧的精华所在。他曾经写道，言语仅仅是“为掩饰赤裸而经常采用的伎俩”。在品特的作品中，对话间的空白尴尬地蔓延开来，甚至压抑得叫人窒息。然而，这些空白却比言语更富表现性。

“Old Times”, a play that premiered in 1971, is full of this electric silence.In a new production at the recently renamed Harold Pinter Theatre in London, directed by the gifted Ian Rickson, the work feels as vital as ever.

昔日》，这部首演于1971年的作品，就充满了这种火花四射的沉默。在一家最近被命名为哈罗德.品特剧院的伦敦剧院里，由天才的伊恩.瑞克森执导的《昔日》，魅力不减当年。

At a remote farmhouse 5 on the English seaside, Anna pays an unexpected visit to Kate and her husband Deeley, seemingly to reminisce about all of those adventures they shared in London 20 years ago. But memory can be a funny thing, full of selfish needs and manipulative fictions. These three figures seem to know each other intimately, but it is not clear what history they actually share. Their recollections overlap 6 but also confuse and compete with each other. To heighten the sense that this is a play about the power and frailty 7 of perception, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lia Williams switch roles for different performances, though Rufus Sewell stays anchored as Deeley.

在英国海滨一间偏远的家舍，女主人凯特和丈夫迪利迎来了一个意外访客：安娜；勾起了三人20年前在伦敦嬉游冒险的回忆。但是记忆这个恶作剧鬼，满是自私自利的念头和操纵人心的捏造。三人似乎曾经过从甚密；然而却无法言明究意有何共同经历。他们的记忆彼此重叠，却又各执一词，让人费解。克里斯汀.斯考特.托马斯和利娅.威廉姆斯在不同场次的演出中会互换角色，以凸显该剧的主题：感觉的威力与脆弱；不过迪利一角，始终由鲁弗斯扮演。

“What silence!” declares Anna. “Is it always as silent?” She has just finished rhapsodising about their young, romantic lives in the big city, only to be greeted by an inhospitable wall of quiet. Anna's memories are so colourful, so vivacious 8, but the Kate she describes is nothing like the quietly intense woman on stage. Undeterred, Anna manically lobs yet more memories as if they are weapons. Kate consistently tries to perch 9 on the sofa behind her husband, turning him into a shield. Deeley, meanwhile, is both spectator and provocateur, stoking the evening with his own memories. As the lone 10 man in the room, he enjoys a unique power. He clings to it, sensing that he is always on the verge 11 of being the odd one out.

“多么安静啊！”安娜感叹，“这安静一直如斯吗？”这时她刚刚吟诵完他们年轻时在伦敦的浪漫生活，回应她的却是一堵不甚友善的沉默之墙。安娜的记忆缤纷绚烂，栩栩如生；她描述的凯特一点也不像舞台上这个神经质般紧张安静的女人。然而安娜毫不气馁，她像投射武器一般急急匆匆地扔出更多的记忆；凯特总想躲在丈夫身后的沙发上，仿佛他是一个盾牌。迪利既是旁观者又是破坏者，用自己的记忆为这个夜晚煽风点火。作为屋里唯一的男人，他仿佛拥有有了某种特别的力量—他感觉自己将要成为被踢出局的格格不入者时，便紧紧攀附着这种力量。

This is a strange play, puzzling and haunting. It works as well as it does thanks not only to Pinter's text, but also to superb interpretation 12 on stage. Mr Sewell stomps 13 and sputters 14 as the charismatic and slightly insecure Deeley, though he might be a touch too handsome—his face too chiselled—for the role. Ms Williams makes for a nervously 15 effervescent Anna. But it is Ms Scott Thomas who steals the show. Her enormous hooded 16 grey eyes shine and then brood; the drama ricochets off her impressive cheekbones. In either role, she is compelling enough to command even the small gestures, such as when she picks at her toes after a bath, or languorously 17 drapes a foot over a bed. Her silence, far from empty, is seductive and mysterious.

这出古怪的戏剧，莫明其妙却引人入胜。这不仅归功于品特的剧本，也要归功于舞台上演员出色的演绎。西维尔在舞台上不停哚脚，喋喋不休，正是那个气势逼人却又有轻微不安全感的丈夫。不过对迪利这个角色而言，他实在太英俊了些，脸庞也太轮廓分明了些。威廉姆斯塑造的极富生气的安娜也很成功。然而斯考特.托马斯的表演夺人心魄。她阴影深重的灰眼睛里光芒闪烁，旋即陷入沉思；所有的戏剧性都汇聚到她高耸的颧骨上。无论是安娜或是凯特一角，都被她诠释得天衣无缝。无论是洗澡后拨弄脚趾，或懒洋洋地把脚搭在床上；这些微小的动作在她做来却让人目不转睛，心驰神往。她的沉默远非虚无，却是风情万种，神秘莫测。