Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"... the cast does some very fine work, with a beguiling Dana Black as a woman with a rich fantasy life that she is unwilling to compromise. Lawrence Grimm and Jay Reed are also strong; Reed, in particular, has a nice way with the Pinteresque sense of veiled menace and unpredictability.
Aaron Menninga's mod-flavored set is one of the better designs I've seen on this stage, and while the production itself is not exactly a scintillating night of theater, it is a good, solid go at Pinter all the same."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Joyce Piven's four actors prove devilishly adept at the sexual role-playing that energizes Pinter's artful deceptions. Though the lack of British accents smudges class distinctions that should fuel "The Collection," jealousy, convenient or disruptive, is the main ingredient here and it curdles on cue."
Copley News Service
- Highly Recommended
"...Both plays demand directing and acting of enormous insight and subtlety. Director Joyce Piven beautifully reads the nuances of each play and the four-member ensemble carries out her, and Pinter’s, intentions with bull’s-eye dramatic precision. A false note would collapse either play but there are no false notes in these two stagings, no over emphasis of the famous Pointer pauses, no distorting exaggeration in the acting, and a magnificent command of the language."
Edge
- Not Recommended
"...The Director who mans the helm of any Pinter production bears the responsibility of making some choices as to how the tense, but thick emotional exchanges should look and feel. And here is where I believe Founder/Artistic Director Emeritus Joyce Piven, who takes the wheel for Piven Theatre Workshop’s 2009-2010 season opening production of Two by Pinter: the Lover and the Collection, ultimately fails. Full of inorganic pauses, sputtering and at times, unintentional confusion, the final product does not mirror the willful, ironic ambiguity of Pinter’s dialogue. Instead, the end result leaves one with the impression of the ambitious undertakings of a company in over its head."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Though falling short of sustained tension, the performers ably handle the pieces’ broader notes of violence and ambiguity. In both acts, Pinter puts people in a jar and shakes it, eliciting reactions infinitely more complex than the situation would imply."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...Pinter’s works are in good hands at Piven Theatre. Lawrence Grimm is particularly good in this production. Pinter fans should see these two solid shows."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...These are two one act plays that Pinter cleverly has written so that we the audience are drawn into mysteries dealing with involvement, love and relationships. His works are challenging as you must pay close attention to the words he has written and under the careful direction of Piven, concentration by the viewer becomes very important. The Piven Theatre is a very intimate place to watch a play and these two stories are very intimate stories, so the location is perfect."
Chicago Theater Beat
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Two early works by Harold Pinter, The Lover (1962) and The Collection (1961) onstage now at Piven Theatre Workshop, probably shocked their audiences when they first premiered. Replete with BDSM and homoerotic undertones, they explore the games people play while maintaining or establishing control within a marriage or among multiple sexual relationships. Quite appropriately, you won’t find leather, whips, or chains in founder Joyce Piven’s interpretation of these little capsules of Pinter. But that doesn’t mean the dramatic stakes should be any lower for lack of accoutrement. There’s plenty of emotional sadomasochism to go around and charge the evening with peril."
