THEATRE of the Absurd was the term used to describe works produced in post-war Britain where characters seem out of step with the world around them. Playwrights used traditional settings, but shocked and confused audiences with fragmented language, surreal imagery and suggested meanings never fully explained.

Pinter’s first full-length play was censured by critics and described by the Lord Chamberlain as insane and pointless.

London Classic Theatre, a touring company established in 2000, brought this version to Middlesbrough, directed by Michael Cabot.

Set designer Bek Parker created a typical seaside boarding house room with tired carpet, cheap furniture and general air of poverty and neglect. Under the raised stage, piles of bones and skulls were briefly illuminated, denoting perhaps skeletons in the cupboard or, in this case, the basement where people were hiding.

Married couple Meg (Cheryl Kennedy) and Petey (Ged McKenna) had the audience laughing from the start at their apathy with the ordinariness of life and words spoken for the sake of it rather than to convey meaning or sincerity.

Pinter’s famous pauses were used to excellent effect linking the dull conversation. The appearance of Stanley, the lodger with unpredictable moods, changed perceptions. Brilliantly played by Gareth Bennett-Ryan, he raised the energy, but also questions about his relationship with Meg, why he never goes out, even when invited to by Lulu, a young visitor, played with child-like innocence by Imogen Wilde.

His behaviour transitions into a nervous breakdown on the arrival of mysterious visitors who take over the household and the play ends with him catatonic at the kitchen table as madness swirling around him.

Jonathan Ashley as Goldberg and Declan Rodgers as McCann added greatly to the chaos, superb word play and vocal gymnastics.

This was remarkable acting which left the audience trying to make sense of what they had seen – probably exactly what Pinter wanted.

Jan Hunter