Steppenwolf co-founder Jeff Perry discusses collaborating on revival of Pinter's 'No Man's Land'
Since they last appeared together 22 years ago in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of "Uncle Vanya," ensemble members Jeff Perry and Austin Pendleton have been looking for another project on which to collaborate.
They found one in "No Man's Land," Harold Pinter's 1975 play that unfolds over the course of a booze-filled evening a wealthy aging writer named Hirst spends with a self-described poet named Spooner. Steppenwolf's revival, which is helmed by Les Waters, is currently in previews.
They chose the play for uncomplicated reasons, said Perry, a Highland Park native and Steppenwolf co-founder. They both love Pinter. So when Pendleton suggested "No Man's Land," which features roles for two older actors, Perry didn't hesitate.
"I said 'Done, I'm sold,'" the Highland Park native recalled. "I can't remember the part, but I'll be with you and Harold Pinter."
And that was enough.
Perry compares Pinter's plays to dreams or nonrepresentational art, whose meaning audience members derive themselves.
Artists like Pinter aren't interested in determining for observers what the story or painting or piece of music means, said Perry, adding "it means what it means to you, in your real-time perception of it."
"I think this man (Pinter) sees the world as more unknowable and more mysterious; as more a case of truths and simultaneous truths," he said, which differs from playwrights like Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller, who see their task as "to make the world knowable."
Pinter, who famously described his plays as "the weasel under the cocktail cabinet," is known for his "comedies of menace" in which a seemingly innocuous or humorous situation is underscored by some outside threat. His work has sparked controversy and challenged audiences.
Perry hopes "No Man's Land" audiences are "not angry, frustrated or befuddled (by the play), but fascinated with the possibilities."
To theatergoers Perry says, "take it in and see what it does to your insides. And if it's any relief, I don't believe the author is asking you to agree with the rest of humanity. He's asking you to have a personal response to this (play) in real time."
"No Man's Land" marks the second time in about 14 months that Perry has appeared onstage at the theater he founded with Terry Kinney and Gary Sinise in 1975. His last appearance was in "Seagull," ensemble member Yasen Peyankov's adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play.
"I'm cognizant and grateful and protective of what Steppenwolf tries to do and what it has done, which is to create a home for artists who love to work together and who love to determine the work they will do together," Perry said.
But Perry acknowledges "moments of existential peril" during Steppenwolf's tenure. He admits fearing for the theater's survival when Sinise and founding ensemble member John Malkovich took the company's production of "True West" to Broadway in 1982. It marked the first of several notable transfers. In the wake of the theater's burgeoning success, including 1990 Tony Awards for director/adapter Frank Galati's "The Grapes of Wrath," Perry wondered whether the ensemble would endure.
"Could we stay together?" he recalls thinking. "Could we grow and change? How would we change? How would we grow?"
His concerns were unfounded. The fame, fortune and artistic opportunities ensemble members have enjoyed individually over the last 48 years have not weakened the collective, which endures because of the affection ensemble members have for each other and their love of performing together.
"It's still a miraculous thing," he said.
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"No Man's Land"
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 20
Where: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, (312) 335-1650, steppenwolf.org
Tickets: $20-$98
COVID-19 precautions: Masks recommended