To all the people I’ve heard complaining that a lot of fans went to see Betrayal only because Tom Hiddleston was in it and not because they were actually interested in the play:
So what? Sure, a lot of people only went to see the show because Tom was in it. But just think about this for a moment. What if, by going to a show just because Tom was in it, someone developed a lifelong love of Pinter’s work, or a lifelong love of theater? What if, in fifteen or twenty years, they eventually made that their career and it all stemmed from seeing that show?
Yes, Tom drew people to the theater, but I can guarantee you that some of them were people who might never have been inclined to go see a Harold Pinter play otherwise. If Tom can introduce fans to a play so significant that the the general consensus of the theater world is that everyone should be familiar with it, what is the problem with that?
Some people only went to see Tom in Betrayal, but you never know how experiencing that play might have inadvertently shaped someone’s future.