Goodman Theatre’s Revival of Ian Painter’s “Betrayal” to run February 8 – March 16, 2025
Chicago’s Goodman Theatre recently announced the upcoming revival of the iconic Betrayal by Nobel Prize-winner Harold Pinter from February 8, 2025 to March 16, 2025. Slated to star in the production are Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard (as Jerry), Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Helen Hunt (as Emma), and Tony Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Ian Barford (as Robert).
Emma, Robert and Jerry have a history together in this, “elegy about time and memory (where) the greatest dramatic weight lies in what’s unspoken, in the darkness of unsorted feelings” (New York Times). As Emma’s marriage to Robert comes to an end, she reconnects with Jerry, her former lover—and her husband’s best friend. The action unspools backward in time, uncovering hidden truths and revealing how little we know about those we think we know so much about.
Pinter made his playwriting debut in 1957, with The Room. His conclusive breakthrough came with The Caretaker (1959), followed by The Homecoming (1964) and other plays. He is generally considered one of the foremost representatives of British drama in the second half of the 20th century. Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space, a minimum of plot, unpredictable dialogue, and powerful character struggles. His best-known screenplays include The Servant (1963), The Accident (1967), The Go-Between (1971) and The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981).
The talented cast of Betrayal boast an impressive collective resume, with decades of acclaimed experience in stage, film, and television. Leveraging their vast expertise, these three exceptional actors are certain to breathe life into Harold Pinter’s complex and riveting drama, unleashing the full depth and nuance of Betrayal. Robert Sean Leonard’s recent work includes ‘President Harry Truman’ in the Showtime limited series The First Lady, and recurring roles on the TNT series Falling Skies and the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Film credits include Much Ado About Nothing, The Age of Innocence, and Whit Stillman’s The Last Days of Disco. Leonard’s Broadway appearances include Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Tony nomination), Born Yesterday, The Violet Hour, The Music Man, The Iceman Cometh, Arcadia, Candida (Tony nomination), and Philadelphia..
Helen Hunt has enjoyed a distinguished career as an award-winning actor, writer, director and producer. Hunt’s film credits include such hits as As Good As It Gets (Best Access Oscar & Golden Globe Winner), What Women Want, Castaway, A Good Woman, Woody Allen’s The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, Robert Altman’s Dr. T And The Women, Pay It Forward and the iconic Twister. Television credits include Mad About You ( Hunt garnered four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards (three as lead actress and one as Producer for Best Comedy) and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Ian Barford returns to the Goodman stage after 27 years for his role in Betrayal. On Broadway, Barford has received a Tony nomination and an Outer Critics award for his performance in Linda Vista. He originated the role of Little Charles in the Tony-winning play, August: Osage County. Barford has also had several stage appearances at the Geffen and Ahmanson Theaters in Los Angeles. He is also an Ensemble member at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater, where he has appeared in plays for more than 30 years.
Led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer*, Chicago’s Goodman Theater’s prioritizes new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions of the theater have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” and Its longtime annual holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago.
Susan V. Booth’s revival of Betrayal by Harold Pinter runs from February 8 – March 16, 2025, in Goodman Theatre’s 856-seat Albert Theatre. Tickets are available through Goodman Membership; call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Connect.
