Harold Pinter’s 1978 play charts an adulterous affair in reverse chronological order, beginning in 1977 with a wan reunion between the ex-lovers–Jerry and Emma, the wife of his best friend, Robert–and journeying backward to the couple’s first kiss in 1968. The irony is that while Emma and Jerry betray Robert, Emma and her husband also betray Jerry by hiding Robert’s awareness of the infidelity. Under Rick Snyder’s direction, Tracy Letts as Robert, Amy Morton as Emma, and Ian Barford as Jerry mine the dry humor and quiet pain in the characters’ brittle chitchat, as Pinter illuminates the way people use language to compartmentalize their emotions. –Albert Williams a Through 5/27: Tue-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat-Sun 3 and 7:30 PM, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, upstairs theater, 1650 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650, $20-$65.