A Review by Divya Nandyal

Staged in the black box theatre, Studio One, by director Bora Celebi and assistant director Ines S.L., Harold Pinter’s 1971 script, Old Times was completely unlike any of the shows I’ve seen in the student theatre sphere; it confronts you, headstrong. 

The play follows the complicated dynamics of Anna, Kate, and Deeley, played by Sydney Hure, Lola Carlton, and Rayyan Khan, respectively. 

Kate and Deeley are married and live in a seaside house; their quiet, domestic existence is disturbed by the visit of Anna, Kate’s dearest and only friend, a word loosely used throughout this journey of a play. We, as the audience, are forced to question whether Kate and Deeley are really married, whether Kate and Anna are just friends, and most perplexingly of all, whether any of them are even alive! 

Old Times is a two-act, 90-minute power play in which all three characters are equally desperate to prove to each other their individuality, their claim over the others, and ultimately, their superiority.

The actors were the driving force of this play for me, twisting reality until we’re unsure of what is real, fake, alive, dead, fact, fiction—convincing themselves as much as the audience. 

I especially enjoyed the power struggle between Deeley and Anna, as he impassionately tells a story, grasping for Kate’s attention, and Anna’s respect, while Anna sensually walks her fingers across her couch, making seductive eye contact with Kate; neither are listening, both are rapt in their own interplay. This loaded eye contact was made so much more hypnotic by Carlton’s gorgeous, elongated eyeliner, designed by Lauren Pearson, accentuating her powerful,l angular, sharp, red costuming; this, in turn, contrasted with the much softer purple that costume designer Sarah Mitchell placed Hure in. 

The minute details sold the characterisation, highlighting the depth at which the actors engaged with their characters. I was truly captivated by Hure’s playful neuroticisms, the elegance of Carlton’s gaze, and her cigarette's slow, long drags. Khan and Hure’s jazzy vocal interlude was impressive and so effortlessly done. 

With each character remaining in their designated seat most of the time, the less is more approach made the blocking somewhat stagnant. I appreciated the power in this, but I would have enjoyed seeing the illusory calm of this play punctuated with more moments of dynamic movement and physical breakdown.

This play’s design, headed by Zoe Latta, was so beautifully stripped back, drawing the audience into the complicated internal world of each character. 

Their playful, passive-aggressive, push-and-pull dynamic was so beautifully enhanced by the pulsating blue, purple, and red lights (designed by Tash McBride, assisted by Sarah Birrell), diffused hazily by a transparent curtain placed directly behind the set (designed by Biana Weis, assisted by Scarlett Wakelin) - dressed precisely in the distinctive colours of the characters, alongside Oriana Chan’s minimalist, but effective sound design; displaying occasional murmurings of the sea, or a running bath. The design of this show truly immersed viewers into the seaside home, Kate’s psyche, or Deeley’s afterlife, whichever of the interpretations you walked away with!

Overall, Celebi and S.L.’s directorial feat, supported by producer Alicia Benson and assistant producer Alex Mouhtouris, was a success, and a brilliant start to NUTS’ 2025 theatre season. I’m incredibly excited for NUTS’ next show - A Midsummer Night’s Dream: in Drag!

Divya is a third year Law/Commerce (Marketing) student, theatre creative, writer, dancer, and musician. She’s a lover of all things pretentious, and an amateur at every craft known to mankind!