The Lover (Armuke)

A drama in one act

There is a man and a woman. Yes, this is a love story in all its bittersweetness. Or, a creative approach to a relationship that has started to crumble. As both people in this relationship are passionate and creative, they seek help from role play, but at one point it crosses a line and becomes real. This story is about their test of love.

Andres Mähar: “For a long time, I have carried with me the idea of a drama production without words, where all the interaction would take place non-verbally. Then I came across a quote by Harold Pinter and to me this became a trigger for the entire play: “We have heard many times that tired, grimy phrase: ‘Failure of communication’… and this phrase has been fixed to my work quite consistently. I believe the contrary. I think we communicate only too well, in our silence, in what is unsaid, and that what takes place is a continual evasion, desperate rearguard attempts to keep ourselves to ourselves.”

This is the first time in the history of the Vanemuine Theatre to produce a play by Harold Pinter, one of the most mysterious playwrights of the past century. His works are associated with British black humour and a sense of absurdity that emphasises the helplessness of human language. This short play from 1962 is the director’s debut of actor Andres Mähar.

Première on 5 October 2019 at the Harbour Theatre