Harold Pinter was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964) and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993) and Sleuth (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works.
The birthday party 鈥� 1957 It was OK. I always found Pinter's plays simple and vague as life. You do not understand it well as if he intended to let you interpret it as you like. Sometimes I do not like such things but this is the reality of life. He told us a lot about his characters past but without full understanding. It ends suddenly! the woman seems to be funny as well as the Irish man. he always consider one more intelligent than another one. Many repeats! The last advice was not to let them to oblige you following their wills! I found it simple and following easily and in a silly way just like real life! Pinter's works are so realistic. He wrote the life we see in all its comic, idiot vague and uncertain events. The hothouse 鈥� 1958 I do like it, it is the best of Harold Pinter till now as I see. It is so deep and represent the real corruption occurs everywhere. Roote, the manager of a rest house or a psychiatric hospital as I think, was involved in rape of a patient, killing another one. And he was always talking about his great efforts and insisting on the importance of order so as to raise their assembly high sky and let it to continue its false success, his subordinate Gibbs was saying all the time 鈥淵as, sir.鈥� Gibbs agreed with him while he is willing to take his position. Roote himself, was once in Gibbs position saying 鈥淵es, sir鈥� this is really what our life is! And the play starts with 2 opposing events a woman giving birth! And a man died! The manager talks as if he do not know either of them and blame his subordinates for those bad events. While he was the criminal! He wanted to know what occurs! He wanted to know false things as he knew the truth! They accused Lamb, a new employee, wants to be greater. They can make him a lamb as his name is! They can scarify with him to cover the real criminal they all know. Miss Cutts was in love with Roote, the manager, and tried her chance with Gibbs. At last Gibbs let all the patients leave their room and kill all the staff except the 2nd line and him and he got his dream, to be the new manager. This is exactly what occurs in real life. At the ministry, he was honored and exposed his x-manager of being killer and rapper. He said that Lamb was responsible for that. It is so realistic and comic sometimes, it took place in Christmas time and that assistant Lush was repeating 鈥渟now turns into mud鈥� it seems so silly but I think he means how good people 鈥渃lear as snow turns suddenly into dark awful things just like mud鈥� it is quite realistic although it seems strange but this is life full of vague and uncertain answers for great events. As they left the matter of killing the whole staff except Gibbs and promised him to find new professional persons. And say 鈥渟orry for delaying your work鈥�. At last we found poor Lamb in a room in schizophrenic status. Always poor people pay the bill instead of the real criminals. A night out 鈥� 1960 It was good and deep, it talks about a guy in his late twenties named Albert 鈥淢r. Stokes鈥� who was spoiled by his mother, who takes care of everything he needs. He was accused of groping a girl at his office party that night. We see how he could not defend himself and trying to escape after quarrelling with his colleague Gidney. He was angry as he told him that his problem is her mother. He hates taking orders, always orders. He returned back and found his mother who sleeping waiting for him so as to have his dinner. It was 12 am. She gave him a long monologue about his being late and she suspected his being at his office party and accused him of going out with bad girls. She told him she has no problem of marrying a good girl whom she should meet and explained that she and her husband chose that company for him to work in because it is a good place. He became angry and hits his mother with a table clock. Then he was wandering in streets at 2 am O鈥檆lock when a girl invited him to her room. He went with her and she told him she is from an aristocratic family and that she chose the men to invite according to their manners and she thought he is a good guy. She said that many respected women 鈥渨ives of lawyers and doctors went out looking for men when their husbands are away. She gave him many orders 鈥渘ot to spoil her rug and not to sit on that chair鈥� he hates orders and became angry and threatens her with a table clock. He frightened her of what he did before hours. He demeaned her and let her helping him to wear his shoes. He said women all the same! No orders. He discovered she was lying. And then he left. He returned home and sat down to rest when he heard her mother voice calling him 鈥淎lbert鈥�, he was freezing in his place. She blamed him of hitting her and said this was the first time to do that and explained she will forgive him and forget the whole matter as she knew he is a good guy! She repeated that many times and at last she asked him 鈥淎ren鈥檛 you a good guy?鈥�. I think it is deep a deals with a good problem in a good and short way. Pinter succeeded to show us the whole situation in an easy way as well. The caretaker 鈥� 1959 This three-act play involves interactions between a mentally-challenged man, Aston; a tramp, Davies, whom Aston brings home to his attic room; and Aston's younger brother (Mick), who appears responsible for the house. It shows us how Davies changed after having false sense of dominance; he refused everything and behaved as if this was his own room. He knew their own secrets that Aston was once in a psychiatric hospital and what Mick dreads of. He tried to throw Aston out through deceiving his younger brother, but at last we see how those brothers decided to fire that stranger who brought them troubles and who was with 2 names. When Aston fired him at first, he said you have no right o do that, only Mick can do it. It is his room. And he tried to make Mick stand by his side. He failed when Mick refused to hear him calling his brother crazy! He left them. At that moment, Davies tried to strengthen his friendship with Aston again by explaining how he was grateful for letting him sleep here, and how he gave him shoes, he had sandals only in the winter!!!鈥� he begged him not to be fired. But he failed. It seems funny and unrealistic, but it is so deep. It means how a weak man feels strong among weaker ones and tried to be their master although he is in their own possession by making them hating each other. Pinter intended to make his 鈥�2 brothers鈥� unstable as if they were so, they were not to let a stranger live with them and order them. At last, Davies returned to his first humble status so as not to lose that shelter they provided him with. We can notice how they were living without knowing the time, as they had no clock and that explains their situations as if the time means nothing to them and that was why their room and situation not progressing and all their programs late. I do like it and do not want to spoil your reading it.