In the current theatrical climate that’s awash with abstract and mind-bogglingly inaccessible productions, it’s very easy to forget how powerful a good old-fashioned play can be. This is the case with York Theatre Royal’s latest production of acclaimed writer Harold Pinter’s play Betrayal, which has been described as one of his most personal and significant works – and I’m pleased to report that the simplistically delightful production easily stands out amongst the crowd.

Betrayal follows the story of the affair between characters Jerry and Emma – played by Mark Hesketh and Amanda Ryan respectively – who are both married and lead separate lives. That’s pretty much Betrayal in a nutshell – except, the story is told backwards, from the end of the couple’s shady relationship to its start on a drunken night in 1968. It’s an interesting structure that requires a lot of careful thought to be employed effectively, but once again, I’m pleased to say that it’s evident a lot of thought has certainly gone into the planning of this electric production.

Okay, so the narrative doesn’t sound that interesting, nor does it sound particularly joyful. However, the play’s sheer simplicity transfixes you, and the deathly well-executed pauses in the conversations between the characters has you eagerly anticipating every word of Pinter’s straightforward, economical dialogue. The strong sense of character relationships and background information you learn throughout the course of the play supports Pinter’s powerful dialogue, and, while the plot itself moves quite slowly, I never felt as if I wanted the play to hurry up and finish – I thoroughly enjoyed watching this interesting examination of relationships.

While much of the credit must go to Pinter’s writing, it’s also worth mentioning just how brilliantly portrayed his characters were by the equally brilliant cast. Hesketh and Ryan were fantastic as the clandestine lovers, while Mason Phillips was also excellent as Emma’s husband Robert, who knew about the affair shortly after it started – committing an even bigger betrayal than that of his best friend Jerry.

The production as a whole was also beautifully designed, with some interesting images and pieces of contextual information about the time and place of the next scene being projected onto the walls. The set was also nice and simple, never being cluttered with unnecessary props and allowing the audience to clearly focus on the characters and the simplistically gripping narrative. Ultimately, these production elements helped to emphasise the play’s main themes, which were love, deception and, of course, betrayal.

While Betrayal might not be regarded as the most exciting thing in the world by some people, I’m more than happy to say that it’s an engaging and powerful domestic drama that grips you from the start with its interesting characters and simple plot, as well as its interesting structure. Despite the fact that it was written in 1978, it’s still refreshingly relevant today – and there’s an awful lot that can be learned from it, both about theatre and human emotions.

Betrayal is playing at York Theatre Royal until 18 October. For more information and tickets, see the York Theatre Royal website. Photo by Anthony Robling.