Critically regarded as one of the English playwright's major dramatic works, it features his characteristically economical dialogue, characters' hidden emotions and veiled motivations, and their self-absorbed competitive one-upmanship, face-saving, dishonesty, and (self-) deceptions.

[1] Inspired by Pinter's clandestine extramarital affair with BBC Television presenter Joan Bakewell, which spanned seven years, from 1962 to 1969,[2] the plot of Betrayal integrates different permutations of betrayal relating to a seven-year affair involving a married couple, Emma and Robert, and Robert's "close friend" Jerry, who is also married, to a woman named Judith.

[3] As Roger Ebert observes, in his review of the 1983 film, based on Pinter's own screenplay, "The Betrayal structure strips away all artifice.

The characters were played by Paola Krum (Emma), Daniel Hendler (Jerry), Diego Velázquez (Robert) and Gabriel Urbani (Waiter).

David Berthold directed a production of Betrayal, designed by Peter England, at the Sydney Theatre Company, from 10 March through 17 April 1999; it starred Paul Goddard, Robert Menzies, and Angie Milliken.

The play was revived in the Lyttleton at the National Theatre in November 1998, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Douglas Hodge, Imogen Stubbs, and Anthony Calf.

In 2003, Peter Hall directed a production of Betrayal at the Duchess Theatre starring Janie Dee, Aden Gillett, and Hugo Speer.

In 2007, Roger Michell staged a revival of Betrayal at the Donmar Warehouse theatre starring Toby Stephens as Jerry, Samuel West as Robert, and Dervla Kirwan as Emma.

In 2011, a new West End production was mounted at the Comedy Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson and starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Douglas Henshall, and Ben Miles.

In 2019, Jamie Lloyd directed Tom Hiddleston as Robert, Zawe Ashton as Emma and Charlie Cox as Jerry in a revival of the play at The Harold Pinter Theatre.

It starred John Simm as Jerry, Ruth Gemmell as Emma, Colin Tierney as Robert and Thomas Tinker as the waiter.

Translator: Avraham Oz; with Oded Teomi as Jerry, Gita Munte as Emma, and Ilan Dar as Robert.

Staged in 2007 by the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), the play featured Bernice Chauly (Emma), Vernon Adrian Emuang (Robert), and Ari Ratos (Jerry), and was directed by filmmaker James Lee.

[14] In 2017, Allnighter Productions produced a self-described "feminist" staging of the play, highlighting the oft-debated question of domestic violence in the marriage between Emma and Robert.

The production starred Vinna Law (Emma), Phraveen Arikiah (Robert), and Shawn Loong (Jerry), and was directed by Asyraf Dzahiri.

[15] Also in 2017, The Actors Studio Seni Teater Rakyat staged dual-language parallel versions of the play, alternating between English and Bahasa Malaysia for each performance, while maintaining all other aspects of the production.

The production(s) starred Stephanie van Driesen as Emma, Omar Ali as Robert, Razif Hashim as Jerry, and was directed by Joe Hasham.

Adapted by Pablo Remón and directed by Israel Elejalde, it was scheduled to be staged in Madrid at the Pavón Teatro Kamikaze from 12 March 2020 to 19 April 2020.

[17] Translated by Haluk Bilginer in Turkish and for the first time in Turkey in 1990–1991 season, it was staged at Taksim Theatre [tr] as the production of Theater Studio by Ahmet Levendoğlu.

The characters were played by Şebnem Köstem (Emma), Gökçer Genç (Jerry), Burak Davutoğlu (Robert) and Direnç Dedeoğlu (Waiter).

Raul Julia starred as Jerry, Blythe Danner as Emma, Roy Scheider as Robert, Ian Thomson as the Barman, and Ernesto Gasco as the Waiter.

A 2000 Broadway revival was staged at the American Airlines Theatre with Juliette Binoche, Liev Schreiber, and John Slattery.

A 2013 revival directed by Mike Nichols, starring Daniel Craig as Robert, Rachel Weisz as his wife Emma (they were in fact married to each other), and Rafe Spall as Jerry, ran from October 2013 to January 2014 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, and set the Broadway record for highest weekly gross the week ending 19 December 2013.

The 2019 West End production directed by Jamie Lloyd transferred to Broadway, once again starring Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox.

It ran at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with previews beginning 14 August 2019, and the official opening on 5 September 2019, closing its limited run on 8 December 2019.

[20][21] A 2025 revival will be staged at the Goodman Theatre from February 8 to March 16, 2025, starring Helen Hunt, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ian Barford.

[22] Pinter adapted Betrayal as a screenplay for the 1983 film directed by David Jones, starring Jeremy Irons (Jerry), Ben Kingsley (Robert), and Patricia Hodge (Emma).

[23][24] The affair was known in some circles; when Betrayal premiered in 1978, Lord Longford (father of Antonia Fraser), who was in the audience, commented that Emma appeared to be based on Joan Bakewell;[25] but the affair only became public knowledge after it was confirmed by Pinter in Michael Billington's 1996 authorised biography,[23] and further confirmed in Joan Bakewell's later memoir The Centre of the Bed.

[26] Pinter wrote the play while engaged in another long-running affair, this time with Antonia Fraser, which became a marriage in 1980 after he divorced Merchant.

However, Pinter explained to Billington that although he wrote the play while "otherwise engaged" with Fraser, the details were based on his relationship with Bakewell.