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Harold Pinter's The Caretaker

British playwright Harold Pinter's gripping drama The Caretaker, directed by Randy Wonzong, will be presented by Chico State's School of the Arts and Department of Theatre Arts in Wismer Theatre for five performances March 6 - 10 at 7:30 pm and March 11 at 2 pm.

The Caretaker is a play about two neurotic brothers whose fragile relationship is upset by a vagrant who comes into their lives. Written in the 1960s, it is a postmodernist play in which reality and reliability move in and out of focus. Director Randy Wonzong said plays in the absurdist tradition such as The Caretaker set the pace for modern movies such as Pulp Fiction, which doesn't have an orderly beginning, middle, and end.

Pinter achieved international success as one of the most complex post-World War II dramatists. His plays are noted for their use of silence to increase tension, understatement, and cryptic small talk. In The Caretaker, Pinter has created a world where the audience shares the characters' confusion and suspense about what is going to happen next.

Wonzong has been at CSU, Chico for 27 years. He has directed 85 plays and acted in Pinter's The Birthday Party and The Dumbwaiter. This is Wonzong's first opportunity to direct a Pinter play. "The Caretaker is a suspenseful and riveting play, challenging and fun to direct," said Wonzong. "For the audience, it promises to be both funny and frightening, an all-around edge-of-your-seat drama."