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‘Betrayal’ cast faces tech problems

Technical problems plagued Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz’s Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” forcing the cast to bravely battle on without mechanized set changes.

We’re told Saturday night’s performance of the lust-filled story of a love triangle, directed by Mike Nichols, hit technical troubles in Scene 2 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, when one audience member told Page Six, “A black screen came down. After 15 minutes, Craig and the rest of the cast came out, and said they were having problems with the stage, but they were going to ‘give it a shot,’ and continue with the performance. They started to applause, but between each scene, the curtain came down, and the set was manually changed, which took a lot of time. By 9:30 p.m., they had only got through a few more scenes, and — while the actors made a valiant attempt to continue — some in the audience became restless and left.”

The play’s plot, which delves further and further into the past, requires numerous set changes, which were rigged to glide on and off the stage seamlessly. A “Betrayal” rep confirmed, “The show’s automation failed after Scene 2, into Scene 3, necessitating manual set changes for the rest of the performance. Of the 1,100 people in the sold-out audience, there were less than 10 requests for refunds or exchanges. There was a 15-minute pause following the breakdown during which the cast made the decision to continue the performance. They continued on brilliantly, and each scene change received a round of applause. They finished at 10:26 p.m., about 40 minutes later than usual. After an immediate standing ovation, Daniel Craig thanked the audience for their patience and the show’s crew for their efforts to ensure the show would go on.”