SYNOPSIS

The Caretaker takes place in a house in west London during the 1950s and
examines the strange relationship between a tramp, Davies, and two
damaged and disconnected brothers, Mick and Aston. The play opens as
Aston saves Davies from a fight and brings him home to give him a place to
stay. Davies seems grateful, but it is soon clear that he is a perpetual liar
and a selfish bigot who immediately tries to manipulate the situation to get
as much out of it as he can. Aston brings him clothes, new shoes, and a bed
to sleep in but they are never good enough for Davies. However, Davies is
quick to accept the money that Aston offers him to return to Sidcup and
collect his papers -- a trip that is never made. When Aston offers Davies the
job of caretaker, he accepts it but is quick to turn his allegiance to Aston’s
brother Mick when he realizes that he can potentially get a better deal out
of him. Aston is quiet, kind, and unassuming, constantly drifting in and out
of the house without any real purpose. It soon becomes clear that Aston
has been sectioned as a teenager and subjected to electric shock therapy
which has left him vulnerable and slow to communicate. Mick, however, is
quick to bait Davies, catching him off balance and deliberately confusing
him. Throughout the play he toys with Davies’ allegiance to the brothers,
first threatening and cajoling him, then buttering him up and offering him
the role of caretaker in the house. He encourages Davies to criticize Aston,
but then turns on Davies and throws him out when he does. Aston and
Mick are bound together by blood, yet disconnected and emotionally
estranged. By the end of the play Davies has sealed his fate by attempting
to muscle in and disrupt the disparate existence of the two brothers.