Old Times is, as Harold Pinter says, "What goes on in my plays is realistic, but what I’m doing is not realism." Pinter's characters all act in a way that appears to be how we relate to one another. The rhythms of speech elicit an expectation that these people are existing, flesh and blood in front of us. But, what lies beneath the surface is what Pinter demands we be focused on. What is going on? Well, Pinter asks his audiences to participate, to not be lazy and expect that all of the answers be handed out. He is asking us to think, to feel, to come aboard his form for a ride and allow ourselves to be taken where we are taken.
Instead of trying to get to a specific destination cleanly, we are taken through rivers of memories that are interpreted differently by each character in the play. Pinter asks us to see that a memory can be remembered vastly different by those that shared it. Moreover, the way we exist in our present lives is greatly affected by our memories and how we allow them to invade our minds; once they do, Pinter shows us how they effect our emotional states and our desire to move forward.
