Lesley Vickerage and Jay Villiers both have a good few TV and theatrical productions under their belt.

But as we chatted in the sparsely furnished rehearsal rooms at the Old Vic during their lunch break, they both admitted that their latest roles have really been eye openers.

The play has made them think hard both about the characters they play and their own responses to them.

In Pinter's moving tale Lesley plays Emma, a devoted wife who is having an affair with her husband's best friend Jerry, played by Jay.

The story begins in 1977, two years after the affair has ended and finishes the day it started.

Tangled web

In between it takes the audience through the tangled web the three have woven, betraying each other again and again.

It's a tight-knit group, off stage as well as on, with only three main actors - husband Robert is played by Peak Practice star Sam Shepherd.

Both Jay and Lesley say they have much enjoyed the time spent looking into the psychology of their characters during the three and a half weeks of rehearsal - a luxury for those used to TV work.

"Where you have a very quick turn-over and might have only a day to rehearse," explains Jay.

Theatre school

Jay actually began his career in Bristol as a student at the Old Vic Theatre School.

His strong pleasant voice will be known to millions of fans of Radio 4's tale of farming folk, The Archers, as that of Dr Tim Hathaway the handsome doctor cuckolded by wife Siobhan and the slightly sinister Brian Aldridge.

So does Jay have a preference for working in theatre, TV or even radio or film?

"The most important thing, the thing I am most interested in, is the story and director," says Jay, who admits he wouldn't mind having a shot at directing.

"Though I'd want to play all the parts!"

Finding parts

Although both well established in their field - Lesley may be best known from TV shows such as Between the Lines, Bugs and Inspector Lynley Mysteries - both she and Jay say it is getting harder to find good parts.

The advent of reality TV and pressure on companies to make money by using well-known faces has hit many actors hard.

But Jay says the backlash of reality TV is not all-bad, with many people turning back to the theatre for a good dose of drama.

And Betrayal has that in spades.

"Some people have the idea that Pinter is often not accessible and I think this play will show them that is not true," said Lesley.

"These characters are betraying everyone, even themselves.

"I've really enjoyed getting into my character and seeing why she acts this way."

Introspective angst

And both Jay and Lesley are quick to point out that the play is not all doom, gloom and introspective angst, but has strong elements of comedy too.

"Particularly when all three are on stage together," says Jay.

Although there is a little to-ing and fro-ing of time during the play, the date of each short scene is projected onto a backdrop behind the actors - and there are changes of costume to invoke the period.

"I very much enjoy the costumes," smiled Lesley.

"Particularly the ones for the 70s."

The time-shift also helps give the audience a feeling that they know more about what is going on than the characters, a power kick which most enjoy.

Ultimately both Lesley and Jay hope the audience will leave the show talking about it and thinking about what they have seen.

Deception and duplicity may be rife on-stage but the actors are certain that the audience will leave feeling far from betrayed by the whole experience.