When something ends in hurt and all that’s left are the memories, the good moments can dissipate, leaving everything to replay in reverse order with the painful end at the forefront.

This is exactly how Harold Pinter’s play, “Betrayal” is told – the end as the beginning and selective memories in retrospect. Tina Parker’s production at the Kitchen Dog Theater skillfully explores the intimacy of the title subject. 

The play revolves around three characters, Emma, Jerry and Robert played by familiar Dallas faces, Leah Spillman, Max Hartman and Cameron Cobb, respectively. 

We meet Emma and Jerry, who we learn had a lengthy affair that has been over for quite some time. 

The complicated relationships between the three characters soon unfold, when we are introduced to Emma’s husband Robert, who happens to be Jerry’s best friend.

Although the play opens with a quiet, uncomfortable moment, once the story begins to develop the actors hit their stride. 

Cobb is dismally funny as Robert and together with Spillman evokes both the turmoil and the romance of betrayal.

KDT’s black box is the perfect venue for the production of “Betrayal” because the proximity of the audience to the actors really allows the details of the play to remain private. 

Each element of this piece of theater demonstrated the expertise of KDT as a company. 

Even the set, designed by Bryan Wofford with Cindy Ernst and Alex Lorrain-Hill, was a reminder that memory plays interesting tricks on the mind. 

Using blue as the primary color and a whirlwind of textiles and objects, it manages to be both simple and overwhelming.

This is the first show in the anniversary season of KDT, which was founded by SMU alumni 20 years ago. 

This production is proof of the talent that SMU theater breeds, as Spillman, Hartman and Cobb number among the many alumni working on this play. 

The play runs through October 9 at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary in Uptown.