The Cornell College Department of Theatre and Dance steps into the unsettling world of Harold Pinter’s drama “The Room” on Oct. 8–10 in the Black Box Theatre.
Tickets can be purchased online (cornellcollegetheatreanddance.ludus.com) and are $15 for the general public, $12 for students and seniors, and free to Cornell students, faculty, and staff with their Cornell IDs.
Pinter’s debut play, written and set in the late 1950s, tells the gripping story of an ordinary boarding house that becomes a place of growing unease and mystery. As seemingly harmless conversations give way to suspicion and unexpected visitors, the boundaries between safety and danger begin to blur.
“Pinter’s plays gave voice to the fears of people trying to make sense of the horrors of the World Wars, resulting in some of the most unnerving plays without going all the way into jump scares and boogeymen,” said Professor of Theatre Scott Olinger, who is directing the show.
The plot centers on the psychological struggle of an elderly woman named Rose. She is terrified of leaving her small, dingy apartment, viewing it as a fortress against the outside world. Finn Hunter ’27 will be playing the main character, Rose.
“There’s something very existential about the play, and everyone that comes to see it will leave with more questions than answers,” Hunter said. “I’m very lucky to be playing Rose; she’s incredibly complicated for someone with such a seemingly mundane life. It feels like she’s always trying to protect a secret at all costs.”
There are six students in the show, as well as another three dozen working backstage. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 8–10 and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 11 in Armstrong-Youngker Hall on the Cornell College campus.
“I’m hoping this play will resonate with those trying to make sense of the world we now live in,” Olinger said. “Rose inhabits a world where what she thinks she knows changes rapidly around her, and that’s a tough place to live.”
“The Room” introduced Harold Pinter’s distinctive voice to modern theatre and continues to captivate audiences with its psychological power. Approximately 60 minutes long, this one-act play is filled with Pinter’s trademark tension, dark humor, and haunting ambiguity.
“I think the biggest gift this play will give audiences is the chance to think in the abstract. This play can mean something different to everyone, and it’ll stay with viewers for hours after the play ends,” Hunter said.
The production has sexual innuendo and brief but harsh violence, and it is generally considered PG-13.
About the Director:
Director Scott Olinger serves as the head of design and production for Cornell College’s Department of Theatre and Dance. A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and Penn State University, Olinger has designed for theatres throughout Iowa and in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Texas. With more than 25 years at Cornell, he brings extensive experience in atmospheric and psychologically driven work—an ideal match for Pinter’s unsettling world in “The Room.”
The above drawings are of the costumes of three characters from Cornell College's production of "The Room," along with the students who will be playing those characters.