Betrayal is a play written by Harold Pinter in 1978. The play deals with an affair that entangles a married couple, Emma and Robert, and their close friend Jerry. The play is unique for its reversed timeline; the first scene in the play takes place after the lovers' affair has been dissolved. Harold Pinter Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (born October 10, 1930) is an English playwright and theatre director. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... An affair is a euphemism for a situation where two people are involved in an illicit sexual, romantic and/or passionate attachment, usually for a limited duration. ...

It was first produced by the National Theatre in London on November 15th, 1978. The original cast featured Penelope Wilton as Emma, Michael Gambon as Jerry, Daniel Massey as Robert, and Artro Morris as the waiter. It was designed by John Bury and directed by Peter Hall. The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... For other uses, see November (disambiguation). ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Penelope Wilton (born June 3, 1946 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK) is a British actress. ... Michael Gambon Sir Michael Gambon (born October 19, 1940) is an actor well-known for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, succeeding fellow-Irish Richard Harris, also noted as a Beckett scholar. ... Daniel Raymond Massey (October 10, 1933 - March 25, 1998) was a British-Canadian actor; he was educated at Eton College and Kings College, Cambridge. ...

Unlike the majority of Pinter's previous works, Betrayal does not fall under the theatre of the absurd, but rather revolves around real characters in realistic circumstances. Regardless of being so fundamentally different in method, Betrayal is regarded as one of Pinter's classics. The Theatre of the Absurd or Le Théâtre de lAbsurde is a phrase used in reference to particular plays written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work. ...

The play is often erroneously attributed to a public scandal caused by Pinter leaving his wife, Vivien Merchant, for Lady Antonia Fraser (whom he married after his divorce in 1980). In actuality, the play was actually based on an affair he had seven years earlier with television presenter Joan Bakewell. Vivien Merchant in a scene from The Homecoming (1973) Vivien Merchant (born on July 22, 1929 in Manchester, England) was a British actress, who was born Ada Thompson. ... The Lady Antonia Fraser (born August 27, 1932) is a British author of history and novels, best known for writing biographies. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Joan Bakewell (born Joan Dawson Rowlands on April 16, 1933) is a British journalist and television presenter. ...

There has been a 1983 film version of the play starring Jeremy Irons and Ben Kingsley as well as a 2000 off-Broadway production at the Roundabout Theatre with Juliette Binoche, Liev Schreiber, and John Slattery. 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jeremy Irons Jeremy Irons (born September 19, 1948) is an Oscar winning British actor. ... Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Bhanji on Friday, December 31, 1943) is an British actor of Indian (Gujarati Hindu) and Russian-Jewish descent. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (born March 9, 1964 in Paris, France) is an actress. ... Isaac Liev Schreiber (born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, born in San Francisco, California. ...