HU Players and Company Present Award-Winning 'Betrayal'

Hampton, VA - Hampton University’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the HU Players and Company proudly present Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at HU’s Little Theatre in Armstrong Hall on Nov. 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee on Nov. 13 at 3 p.m.  Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for senior citizens, children and students, and admission for HU students is free.

In this award-winning play of quiet eloquence, richly textured drama draws us into a complex world where silence speaks, humor stabs, and relationships develop as they unravel.  Set in 1977 London, Emma is married to Robert and Jerry is his best friend.  This has not prevented Emma and Jerry’s seven-year affair, however.  The story unfolds in a unique, reverse manner, where the characters grow younger as the play progresses from ending to beginning.  Tension comes from other sources, leading to other questions that cut like lasers: How could this happen?  Why?  This common story is told simply, and with great humor, appealing to both the heart and the head.

C. Perry Otto, assistant professor of speech and theatre, will serve as director and scenic and light designer for Betrayal.  Otto has directed the HU Players in several plays including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery, and Tartuffe.  Since 1988, Otto has also served as technical director at HU, designing sets and lighting for such productions as The Wiz, Dracula, Once on This Island, and The Disappearance.

Gregory J. Horton, associate professor of theatre at North Carolina A & T University, will return once again to HU as the costume designer for Betrayal.  He has previously designed for such HU favorites as A Streetcar Named Desire, The Wiz, The Taming of the Shrew, and Dream Girls.  He is the national president of the Black Theatre Network and is on the board of directors of the United States Theatre Technologists.

The cast of Betrayal consists of Quentin Miles, Richard Gilmore, Lauren R. Banks, and Arthur Mingo.  The Hampton Players and Company is a non-profit, professionally run performing ensemble.  The performers are not limited to the University stage, but have appeared on stages throughout the United States.

For ticket information, please contact the HU Box Office at (757) 727-5236 or (757) 727-5402.