The Pinter plays produced by Stanford Summer Theater (SST) didn't disappoint. "The Lover" grabbed the audience immediately and didn't let go until the lights went down. The setup between the main characters—a classy British couple who has been married for 10 years—leads you to believe the play is going to be one thing, but it turns out to be something else entirely. Once you figure it out, you join them on their relentless journey of mind games that escalate until the play's climax, when one must win and the other must lose. But the games, unlike the ones played by Albee's George and Martha ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"), arise not from malice, but from love. Both husband and wife have good intentions, making their characters sympathetic and accessible.

Special attention should be paid to the costumes, as they serve to clarify the dramatic situation. To say more would give too much away.

"The Lover" was preceded by "Night," a 10-minute "sketch" about an entirely different married couple. Both sit at opposite ends of a long table, reminiscing about the beginning of their courtship, but remembering it differently—calling into question the very foundation on which they built their lives together. The theme is enforced by the manner in which they share their late-night coffee. Husband and wife are served from the same coffeepot, but each draws from his or her own separate creamer and sugar container, clouding the shared experience with their own individual desires.

For more information on playwright Harold Pinter, visit www.haroldpinter.org.

Saw "War of the Worlds" last weekend. I'd give it a B+. (SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the flick yet, skip the rest of this paragraph.) Good suspense, standard Tom Cruise intensity (his performance even made me forget about his off-screen antics), and harrowing scenes of people trudging toward safety in one big mass. I found the ending a letdown, though. The aliens just up-and-died; I was hoping humanity would've outsmarted them in some way. But Dakota Fanning outsmarts us all... do you know she commands $3 million per film now? She's 11 years old!

Speaking of old, today's my birthday. I'm a quarter-century older than Dakota Fanning.

In related "War of the Worlds" (WOW) news, Woodside Community Theatre is planning to perform a staged version of the original WOW radio broadcast. More details on that later; in the meantime, you can listen to a clip of the original broadcast here:

http://www.woodsidetheatre.org/WOWClip.mp3

Planning to see the play "The Lover" next week, as part of the Harold Pinter Festival going on at Stanford this summer. It's supposedly similar to Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," but with a more British sensibility. Watch this space for a mini-review.

Plus, films whose screenplays were written by Pinter are being shown on Monday nights for the next several weeks: The French Lieutenant's Woman (July 25), Turtle Diary (August 1), and The Handmaid's Tale (August 8). The Handmaid's Tale is based on a creepy, futuristic novel by Margaret Atwood, one of my favorite authors.

Screenings are free, and post-screening discussions will be led by folks involved with Stanford Summer Theater. More info here.