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The Birthday Party & The Room
In The Birthday Party, a musician who escapes to a dilapidated boarding house, where he falls victim to the shadowy, ritualized violence of two men who have followed him from his sinister past.In The Room, a derelict boarding house again becomes the scene of a visitation from the past when a blind man suddenly arrives to deliver a mysterious message.
Both plays are invested with the elements that make Pinter's work unique: the disturbing familiarity of the dialogue, the subtle characterization, and the abrupt mood and power shifts among the characters, which can be by turns terrifying, moving, and wildly funny.
Both plays are invested with the elements that make Pinter's work unique: the disturbing familiarity of the dialogue, the subtle characterization, and the abrupt mood and power shifts among the characters, which can be by turns terrifying, moving, and wildly funny.
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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About the author
Harold Pinter
394 books777 followersHarold 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 29, 2025
I absolutely could be wrong here...both plays almost seem like a variation of Waiting for Godot to me. The Birthday Party brought to mind questions of 'waiting' for punishment to be announced; a kind of game whereby judgement is suspended until consensus is reached. The Room revolves around a landlord who can't be found; but the tenants have no idea who is in charge while everyone is looking for him. Existentially disturbing and atmospheric.
May 19, 2014
Earlier this month I attended a live performance by Julian Sands called A Celebration of Harold Pinter. Inspired by Pinter's little-known poetry, it's informed by and interspersed with anecdotes and quotes from Pinter himself, his colleagues and his wife. Some of the poetry seemed rather good, but I wondered if it sounded good (as opposed to if I'd read it on the page) because of Sands' wonderful delivery. I'm guessing Pinter wrote his poetry as he did his plays, knowing what pauses and emphases he wanted for the fullest effect: he had tutored Sands on his desired delivery. Sands mentioned that he first met Pinter when he was cast in The Room in which Sands played ... Mr. Sands.
Pinter's plays are famous for their use of beats, pauses and silences. His definition of these ellipses was imitated by Sands in Pinter's directorial voice, complete with hand-and-foot motions, and to great effect. So I read these two plays with all this in mind, as well as recognizing as I read that some of the always rich dialogue calls for rapid-fire, point-counterpoint, menacing delivery.
Even without being able to hear these earliest of Pinter's plays performed, the boredom and death-anxiety of quotidian lives in decrepit boardinghouses come through loud and clear, as a feeling of dread is ratcheted up and up. Reading them, as opposed to seeing them, does afford the time and space for multiple interpretations and reflections: existential and absurd, yes, but certainly also the beginnings of much more than those labels.
Pinter's plays are famous for their use of beats, pauses and silences. His definition of these ellipses was imitated by Sands in Pinter's directorial voice, complete with hand-and-foot motions, and to great effect. So I read these two plays with all this in mind, as well as recognizing as I read that some of the always rich dialogue calls for rapid-fire, point-counterpoint, menacing delivery.
Even without being able to hear these earliest of Pinter's plays performed, the boredom and death-anxiety of quotidian lives in decrepit boardinghouses come through loud and clear, as a feeling of dread is ratcheted up and up. Reading them, as opposed to seeing them, does afford the time and space for multiple interpretations and reflections: existential and absurd, yes, but certainly also the beginnings of much more than those labels.
September 9, 2008
written in 1957 while in his mid-twenties , the room and the birthday party were harold pinter's first two plays. the english dramatist's first attempts at creating theatrical works were initially ridiculed, but pinter is now acclaimed as one of the world's finest playwrights. he has won an appreciable number of awards, including the nobel prize for literature in 2005. besides his play-writing, pinter is also well known for his poetry, acting, directing, and political activism.
the apparent simplicity of these two plays is betrayed by rich dialogue (for which pinter is widely regarded) and authentic characterizations. while presumably more effective upon staging, these works, nonetheless, resonate as much for what is being said for what is left unspoken. though his works have become more overtly political throughout his writing career, both the birthday party and the room have clear sociopolitical overtones. as pinter himself offered in an interview from the late 1980's about the birthday party (and two other plays): "it's the destruction of an individual, the independent voice of an individual. i believe that is precisely what the united states is doing to nicaragua. it's a horrifying act. if you see child abuse, you recognize it and you're horrified. if you do it yourself, you apparently don't know what you're doing."
these works are an obvious exploration of identity, and the need for the individual to withstand and continually battle against the forces that would rob one of their independence (in thought & deed). both of these plays are subtly nuanced, and as such it would be easy for a reader to mistake these texts for lacking in substance, when they, upon more careful reading, are quite evidently teeming with it. both the the room and the birthday party have been, however dubiously, dubbed "comedies of menace." classify them as one may, they remain, even fifty years later, rich examples of play-writing at its finest.
the swedish academy in recognition for his literary creations honored pinter, "who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms."
the apparent simplicity of these two plays is betrayed by rich dialogue (for which pinter is widely regarded) and authentic characterizations. while presumably more effective upon staging, these works, nonetheless, resonate as much for what is being said for what is left unspoken. though his works have become more overtly political throughout his writing career, both the birthday party and the room have clear sociopolitical overtones. as pinter himself offered in an interview from the late 1980's about the birthday party (and two other plays): "it's the destruction of an individual, the independent voice of an individual. i believe that is precisely what the united states is doing to nicaragua. it's a horrifying act. if you see child abuse, you recognize it and you're horrified. if you do it yourself, you apparently don't know what you're doing."
these works are an obvious exploration of identity, and the need for the individual to withstand and continually battle against the forces that would rob one of their independence (in thought & deed). both of these plays are subtly nuanced, and as such it would be easy for a reader to mistake these texts for lacking in substance, when they, upon more careful reading, are quite evidently teeming with it. both the the room and the birthday party have been, however dubiously, dubbed "comedies of menace." classify them as one may, they remain, even fifty years later, rich examples of play-writing at its finest.
the swedish academy in recognition for his literary creations honored pinter, "who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms."
January 16, 2022
Perplexing. Brilliant.
Some of the Dialogue (especially in 'The Room') seems reminiscent/influencing the dialogue of Lynch. The exchange between the landlord and the renter seemed to come in the voice on Lynch as Gordon Cole.
Some of the Dialogue (especially in 'The Room') seems reminiscent/influencing the dialogue of Lynch. The exchange between the landlord and the renter seemed to come in the voice on Lynch as Gordon Cole.
June 10, 2020
This has to be one of the worst books I've read. I read this for my classic ABC challenge and now I wish I had chosen a different book that started with a "B" but at least this one was short.
Truthfully these two stories in here didn't make much sense to me. I don't mind if stories are surreal or if they are weird (I do read a lot of science fiction, fantasy and horror you know) but I do expect them to have a plot that makes sense within the framework of that particular story. And these don't have that.
The Birthday Party: this one hinted at stuff but I felt just as confused at the end as I did at the beginning! I had no clue what was really going on. I feel the two men who arrived at the house were after Stanley but I'm not really certain. Nothing was explained. In fact the back of the book actually explains more than the actual story (which makes no sense).. who were the two men? Why were they possibly looking for Stanley? It's an 87 page story that manages to write a lot of words but actually says nothing.
The Room: I had hoped this one would be better but it wasn't. It's yet another very confused, mixed up story. In this one no one seems to know who the landlord of the building is. Or why a man is down in the basement waiting to see Rose. We never find out the answer. But why write these stories if they don't actually tell us the reason why? This one kept repeating stuff too, like how bad it was outside.
I really don't see how these two plays were successful in London...as the back of the book claims. They seem to be a confusing mess.
Truthfully these two stories in here didn't make much sense to me. I don't mind if stories are surreal or if they are weird (I do read a lot of science fiction, fantasy and horror you know) but I do expect them to have a plot that makes sense within the framework of that particular story. And these don't have that.
The Birthday Party: this one hinted at stuff but I felt just as confused at the end as I did at the beginning! I had no clue what was really going on. I feel the two men who arrived at the house were after Stanley but I'm not really certain. Nothing was explained. In fact the back of the book actually explains more than the actual story (which makes no sense).. who were the two men? Why were they possibly looking for Stanley? It's an 87 page story that manages to write a lot of words but actually says nothing.
The Room: I had hoped this one would be better but it wasn't. It's yet another very confused, mixed up story. In this one no one seems to know who the landlord of the building is. Or why a man is down in the basement waiting to see Rose. We never find out the answer. But why write these stories if they don't actually tell us the reason why? This one kept repeating stuff too, like how bad it was outside.
I really don't see how these two plays were successful in London...as the back of the book claims. They seem to be a confusing mess.
February 8, 2017
I was originally going to give two separate ratings for "The Birthday Party" and "The Room", yet right after I finished the second play I realized that both "The Birthday Party" and "The Room" warrant 5 stars.
This is my first time reading anything by Harold Pinter, yet after 5 pages of reading him I realized how long pauses and silences are used liberally in his work. This was rather frustrating at first yet after a while it grew on me and realized just how important it really was in terms of delivering lines and setting tension (not that's it's that enjoyable to read).
In most plays and novels, the reader is usually able to figure out what they have read by the end and come up with their own conclusions on why such actions were acted, certain lines were delivered, and overall what the meaning of it all is. Well, with Pinter, it's not quite that simple. In fact, you may be left even more confused and naive when you first started reading.
In "The Birthday Party", a man named Stanley with a rather vague past is interrogated by two men ALSO with vague pasts. During the whole play you get this feeling of dread and tension starts to build. I feel like the two men (named Goldberg and McCann) were not only more intelligent that the their characters, but were also more aware or their surroundings and the people they were with. They spot Stanley, a depressed, lonely man who is stuck in a boarding house with an unintelligent, nondescript lady and her barely nonexistent husband and realize they can screw with him. No, not screwing with him. More like harming and confusing him so much psychologically that by the end of the play he can barely speak, only communicating in small gasps and chokes. That. Is. F#%^ed. Up. In so many ways it is terrifying and confusing yet at the same time Pinter makes it all absolutely hilarious. Because not only is it so mind boggling and weird, it's just so damn surreal. It starts out as simply a simple conversation between characters to a GODDAMN INTERROGATION THAT ENDS UP SCREWING ONE MAN'S LIFE. What the hell, Pinter!?
"The Room" is one that's hard to talk about with other people who haven't read it beforehand. It's very short, and yes, weird, weird, weird. A lady living in a derelict boarding house gets a message from a blind negro for her to come home. It's got an ending that had my head scratching even more than "The Birthday Party" and it was the play that officially made me a Pinter fan (The Birthday Party, however, had more of an effect on me).
I don't think I have ever read ANYTHING before that has made me think about what I read for several hours after finishing it. I'll be thinking about "The Birthday Party" and "The Room" for several more days...perhaps the rest of my life, trying to figure out what I just read and witnessed as an audience member who couldn't do anything to save its characters. I could only sit there and watch it play out, both horrified yet laughing. Pinter stood there on the sidelines going "You want to help them don't you? You want to save these people? Oh, you have a bad feeling about those guys? Haha, sucks for you! You can only sit there and watch these events play out in front of you, having many conflicted feelings and wanting to offer comfort and benevolence. Well, that's not how it works! You can only sit there and enjoy the pain being received the the innocent, or are they really even innocent? How would you know they're innocent if you KNOW BARELY A SCRAP ABOUT THEIR PAST?"
I think Pinter may have f#%*ed me up a little bit.
This is my first time reading anything by Harold Pinter, yet after 5 pages of reading him I realized how long pauses and silences are used liberally in his work. This was rather frustrating at first yet after a while it grew on me and realized just how important it really was in terms of delivering lines and setting tension (not that's it's that enjoyable to read).
In most plays and novels, the reader is usually able to figure out what they have read by the end and come up with their own conclusions on why such actions were acted, certain lines were delivered, and overall what the meaning of it all is. Well, with Pinter, it's not quite that simple. In fact, you may be left even more confused and naive when you first started reading.
In "The Birthday Party", a man named Stanley with a rather vague past is interrogated by two men ALSO with vague pasts. During the whole play you get this feeling of dread and tension starts to build. I feel like the two men (named Goldberg and McCann) were not only more intelligent that the their characters, but were also more aware or their surroundings and the people they were with. They spot Stanley, a depressed, lonely man who is stuck in a boarding house with an unintelligent, nondescript lady and her barely nonexistent husband and realize they can screw with him. No, not screwing with him. More like harming and confusing him so much psychologically that by the end of the play he can barely speak, only communicating in small gasps and chokes. That. Is. F#%^ed. Up. In so many ways it is terrifying and confusing yet at the same time Pinter makes it all absolutely hilarious. Because not only is it so mind boggling and weird, it's just so damn surreal. It starts out as simply a simple conversation between characters to a GODDAMN INTERROGATION THAT ENDS UP SCREWING ONE MAN'S LIFE. What the hell, Pinter!?
"The Room" is one that's hard to talk about with other people who haven't read it beforehand. It's very short, and yes, weird, weird, weird. A lady living in a derelict boarding house gets a message from a blind negro for her to come home. It's got an ending that had my head scratching even more than "The Birthday Party" and it was the play that officially made me a Pinter fan (The Birthday Party, however, had more of an effect on me).
I don't think I have ever read ANYTHING before that has made me think about what I read for several hours after finishing it. I'll be thinking about "The Birthday Party" and "The Room" for several more days...perhaps the rest of my life, trying to figure out what I just read and witnessed as an audience member who couldn't do anything to save its characters. I could only sit there and watch it play out, both horrified yet laughing. Pinter stood there on the sidelines going "You want to help them don't you? You want to save these people? Oh, you have a bad feeling about those guys? Haha, sucks for you! You can only sit there and watch these events play out in front of you, having many conflicted feelings and wanting to offer comfort and benevolence. Well, that's not how it works! You can only sit there and enjoy the pain being received the the innocent, or are they really even innocent? How would you know they're innocent if you KNOW BARELY A SCRAP ABOUT THEIR PAST?"
I think Pinter may have f#%*ed me up a little bit.
October 26, 2008
Harold Pinter's style is difficult to pinpoint, and yet is unmistakable. His cleverly written, unwaveringly unsetting plays need time to settle in one's mind, like tea leaves only slowly revealing a fortune, and even then they remain cryptic, full of mysteries. This happens even more so when they are read and not seen, as in performance a director can make a clear choice, while a reader is left with a multitude of possibilities coexisting at any given moment, and, as a number of them will equal validity, they beecome impossible to choose. It's an odd experience.
In addition to having a style that is difficult to describe, the plots also defy summary, twisting each summary into into a simplistic sketch of the actual finished work. The two plays in this volume are defined most easily by their differences. The Birthday Party is a play to grab by the collar and throttle you, a play to make you gasp in horror on the subway. The Room is quieter, vaguer, concerning a greater number of realistically harmless people - easier to read, but taking longer to settle in one's mind.
They're book entirely fascinating, masterpieces of a form without rules, finely chosen notes on a instrument that does not yet exist. Effective and unendingly interesting and neccesary for anyone who plans to make their living in theater.
In addition to having a style that is difficult to describe, the plots also defy summary, twisting each summary into into a simplistic sketch of the actual finished work. The two plays in this volume are defined most easily by their differences. The Birthday Party is a play to grab by the collar and throttle you, a play to make you gasp in horror on the subway. The Room is quieter, vaguer, concerning a greater number of realistically harmless people - easier to read, but taking longer to settle in one's mind.
They're book entirely fascinating, masterpieces of a form without rules, finely chosen notes on a instrument that does not yet exist. Effective and unendingly interesting and neccesary for anyone who plans to make their living in theater.
July 17, 2013
Much like other Pinter plays, I enjoyed this, particularly The Birthday Party. I felt a bit that The Room was not enough to really mean anything to me, and its pointless violence seemed a bit out of left field. The Birthday Party was far more creepy in it's own surreal way.
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February 18, 2017I just can't break into this play as much as I've wanted to since my '20's. I used to love reading plays as much as seeing them performed, but for whatever reason Pinter has left me dry. It doesn't mean he's not a great playwright, but he's not for me.
July 17, 2021
MEG: The playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: What?
MEG: The playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: What?
MEG: I said the playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: Oh.
MEG: The playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: Oh.
MEG: He must think we're in a pantomime!
PETEY: What?
MEG: He must think we're in a pantomime!
PETEY: What?
MEG: I said he must think we're in a pantomime!
PETEY: Oh.
MEG: It's like he's trying too hard to be Beckett!
PETEY: What?
MEG: It's like he's trying too hard to be Beckett!
PETEY: What?
MEG: I said it's like he's trying too hard to be Beckett!
PETEY: Oh.
Repeat ad nauseam...
(Two stars given for the sense of tension in The Room. Thankfully I read that before reading exactly the same play again in The Birthday Party)
PETEY: What?
MEG: The playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: What?
MEG: I said the playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: Oh.
MEG: The playwright really likes to repeat things a lot!
PETEY: Oh.
MEG: He must think we're in a pantomime!
PETEY: What?
MEG: He must think we're in a pantomime!
PETEY: What?
MEG: I said he must think we're in a pantomime!
PETEY: Oh.
MEG: It's like he's trying too hard to be Beckett!
PETEY: What?
MEG: It's like he's trying too hard to be Beckett!
PETEY: What?
MEG: I said it's like he's trying too hard to be Beckett!
PETEY: Oh.
Repeat ad nauseam...
(Two stars given for the sense of tension in The Room. Thankfully I read that before reading exactly the same play again in The Birthday Party)
May 2, 2009
Pinter rocks in his first well-made play, The Birthday Party (1958).
Using his brief, telegram-like language, pauses, interrogation, kitchen-sink probs.... he makes us see the menace that attacks at any minute!
Your past will haunt you.... your identity is fragmented, truth subsides...!
Not an absurdist... but rather...a mirror of our own language, style, microcosm of the world....standing for the Big Fearful world of warring authorities, crushing the innocent!
Using his brief, telegram-like language, pauses, interrogation, kitchen-sink probs.... he makes us see the menace that attacks at any minute!
Your past will haunt you.... your identity is fragmented, truth subsides...!
Not an absurdist... but rather...a mirror of our own language, style, microcosm of the world....standing for the Big Fearful world of warring authorities, crushing the innocent!
October 22, 2012
The Piece that inspires me the most was the Room, this was somehow the meaningful master piece of Harold as an Absurd writer, well in fact it's all about a scarified woman who is sticking around the room and each time talking to herself, her husband stays reading the newspaper for the most of the play, and finally the Protagonist became blind. I think that it's funny to argue about that. since we are in the circle of Absurdity... Everything is possible.
April 12, 2007
I swear, reading Pinter plays is like walking in on random private conversations between avant-garde literati on crack. There is never a beginning or an end, dialogues are lightning-fast, and when you are finished you are left with a feeling that something really cool had just happened, you just aren’t sure what. This is cool stuff!
September 7, 2007
Quite shocking to experince dark side of human nature and life on stage ... a fascinating mimesis of inevitability of gloomy human fate ... an analysis of being despaired due to the unability of "touching" life and becoming aware of the fact that any chance of "gaining" hope for further pace is all in vain ...
March 15, 2008
At the University of Wisconsin, Marinette's Theater on the Bay, I played the part of Lulu. This play was produced in conjunction with a class entitled Theater of the Absurd. It was performed in a "theater-in-the-round" format by using a very large retangular Asian rug. The action of the play took place entirely upon this rug. It was my favorite theater role of all time!
January 9, 2011
A quite disturbing little book, I must say. Having read no Pinter's plays before, I didn't know what I was to find. I did find something, though: a very personal voice, two plays written by a then young fellow (29 years old), who in 2005 was awarded the Nobel prize for Literature. I'll keep him in mind.
September 24, 2012
....This one just didn't work for me, though possibly this could be because I don't like reading plays. There's some interesting stuff done with ambiguity of context/identity (usually stuff I would be into) but nothing in the play works well enough for that to matter.
September 8, 2014
Probably better to watch than to read. On paper these come across as occasionally funny but generally just too weird and artsy-fartsy.
January 23, 2024
I'm sure I read Harold Pinter in college, but I absolutely don't remember anything. Vague memory told me these would likely be surreal, though it was still not what I expected somehow. Without looking up additional criticism, my guess is that this type of repetitive, often meaningless dialogue is supposed to evoke a particular feeling that is largely carried by seeing it in close proximity. Reading the text and filling in connotation and stage directions for myself left a lot of blank spots; it felt monotonous and boring but not impactful. In fact, I missed the whole point of the first play and hadn't noticed a character was murdered until I read the summary on the back. I'd be shocked if this doesn't feel way more meaningful to see in person; as it was, I noticed some potential but was glad to skip through this pretty quickly.
Content warnings for sexual assault, mental illness, murder, sexism (The Birthday Party) and racism, ableism, and assault (The Room).
Content warnings for sexual assault, mental illness, murder, sexism (The Birthday Party) and racism, ableism, and assault (The Room).
March 12, 2020
Beneath the labels of "theater of the absurd" and "comedy of menace" lie little more than calculated obscurity, repetition and boredom, these two plays of strangers in a lodger-house being the earlier works of the Nobel-winning playwright. Somehow puzzled by the most-performed and best-known status of The Birthday Party, I tried to look up the critical reception of the play in 1958 and found the consensus was exactly in line with my take[1] except one critic[2] but then assessment of Pinter turned for the better after The Caretaker (not included here),two years later[1].
I won't really recommend it but it's hard to deny the wit in mixing the mundane with the inscrutable to this effect (anxiety and unease). The Room is a much shorter work in a similar rein.
Ref:
[1]Galens, David, editor, & Gale Group. (1999). Drama for students. (Vol. 5) presenting analysis, context and criticism on commonly studied dramas. Detroit, Mich.: Gale.
[2]Harold Hobson,The Screw Turns Again,available at http://www.haroldpinter.org/plays/pla...
I won't really recommend it but it's hard to deny the wit in mixing the mundane with the inscrutable to this effect (anxiety and unease). The Room is a much shorter work in a similar rein.
Ref:
[1]Galens, David, editor, & Gale Group. (1999). Drama for students. (Vol. 5) presenting analysis, context and criticism on commonly studied dramas. Detroit, Mich.: Gale.
[2]Harold Hobson,The Screw Turns Again,available at http://www.haroldpinter.org/plays/pla...
May 8, 2019
The Birthday Party - i picked this up because i recall reading somewhere that the band The Birthday Party (pre Bad Seeds Nick Cave) may have named themselves after this play. while i enjoyed the ambiguity and uncertainty of the narrative i just really don't enjoy reading plays. i don't know why but it's just not for me. i generally don't like watching plays that much either, luckily there's a film version starring Robert f-ing Shaw(!) and directed by William f-ing Friedkin(!). apparently it bombed but whatever.
4 stars
The Room - i didn't like this at first but as it went on it grew on me. something about the uncertainty as to the size of the building and who was inhabiting it was very appealing to me. the ending didn't do much for me though.
3 1/2 stars
4 stars
The Room - i didn't like this at first but as it went on it grew on me. something about the uncertainty as to the size of the building and who was inhabiting it was very appealing to me. the ending didn't do much for me though.
3 1/2 stars
September 1, 2024
Pinter has his own set of signature traits that seem to make up the bulk of his plays, to judge from the ones I’ve read – the seemingly inconsequential chatter of some characters, repetitive and often completely ignored by other characters; the non-sequitur nature of some conversations; characters insisting on what would seem to be trivial points; bullying; and the threat of violence, which can erupt into actual violence. In the two plays in this collection I found the shorter, “The Room”, didn’t have much going on beyond that, but the longer, “The Birthday Party”, rises above being just a pointless story and does develop a genuine plot. Three and a half stars for the collection, I’ll go with four as “Birthday Party” really was genuinely entertaining, to me anyway.
September 25, 2018
I was excited that my book club's choice of the month was a play because I am the only one in the group who enjoys reading plays. My excitement was short-lived.
The Birthday Party was so/so. If you catch the reference to "black and tans" it will make sense, but to me it was a blah endeavor.
The Room started out to be intriguing. The characters speak in quoted dialogue with the exception of the husband, who "speaks" as if he's thinking. This oddity had me thinking we were going on a "Rose for Emily" ride. [no spoilers] I found the abrupt twist of an ending to be absurd, somewhat offensive, and it ruined what was shaping up to be a brief trip into dark territories of the mind.
The Birthday Party was so/so. If you catch the reference to "black and tans" it will make sense, but to me it was a blah endeavor.
The Room started out to be intriguing. The characters speak in quoted dialogue with the exception of the husband, who "speaks" as if he's thinking. This oddity had me thinking we were going on a "Rose for Emily" ride. [no spoilers] I found the abrupt twist of an ending to be absurd, somewhat offensive, and it ruined what was shaping up to be a brief trip into dark territories of the mind.
February 20, 2019
I run lukewarm towards the avant garde, absurdist style of the midcentury theatre. While I appreciate what many of these writers were attempting to do, I don’t think a lot of the work stands up over time, reading more like overwrought undergraduate pathos than serious literature.
Every so often, though, I stumble upon a play that works. These two plays, some of Pinter’s earliest, show how the theatre of the absurd can succeed. Of the two, I found The Room stronger. The Room manages to be both nonsensical and incredibly pointed, and I can see why it established Pinter’s career. Recommended.
Every so often, though, I stumble upon a play that works. These two plays, some of Pinter’s earliest, show how the theatre of the absurd can succeed. Of the two, I found The Room stronger. The Room manages to be both nonsensical and incredibly pointed, and I can see why it established Pinter’s career. Recommended.
October 21, 2020
Pinter is such an original playwright. Yes, he is often put into the category of an Absurdist, his plays aligned with those of writers like Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco. Those connections make sense, but at the same time he is entirely his own kind of creative artist. His plays sound like no other author's plays; they are not derivative at all. And that's about the best thing one can say about any writer. Both of the plays in this volume are classic Pinter. You can't not like the book, unless Pinter just completely rubs you the wrong way. I can't get enough.
May 19, 2021
One of those "i havent read this before or at least i dont think i have and i probably should have if i havent"s. Meh. Doesnt give me Nobel-level vibes. Of the 2, I preferred The Room, as The Birthday Party was high on the menace but also too low on the parsable greater meaning. Just felt like a great grandfather to a film like Funny Games. Not so fun to read. The Room, on the other hand, while in no way crystal clear on its true intent, was a little easier on this old brain. Lots to consider in terms of aging, mortality, etc.
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September 5, 2025Don't esteem it as highly as the incredibly funny and cutting 'The Homecoming' from the same author, but it is just as cuckoo, nervy, and, I don't know, I guess....irreverent.
Love some Pinter, always on the hunt for the next title of his.
This kind of lovable across-the-pond dialogue "logic" is why:
MEG. He's late for his breakfast.
PETEY. There isn't any breakfast.
MEG. Yes, but he doesn't know that. (pg. 68)
ROSE. Clarissa? What a pretty name.
MRS. SANDS. Yes it is nice, isn't it? My father and mother gave it to me. (pg. 102)
Love some Pinter, always on the hunt for the next title of his.
This kind of lovable across-the-pond dialogue "logic" is why:
MEG. He's late for his breakfast.
PETEY. There isn't any breakfast.
MEG. Yes, but he doesn't know that. (pg. 68)
ROSE. Clarissa? What a pretty name.
MRS. SANDS. Yes it is nice, isn't it? My father and mother gave it to me. (pg. 102)
November 26, 2025
It is possible that a talented cast could breathe some life into Pinter’s words on stage.
It is possible that stage design could invest some reality into Pinter’s words.
Maybe you have to be in a narrow frame of mind to experience some drama and some human wisdom when you read a Pinter play.
If you can ignore the tiresome repetition, and the not-so-pregnant pauses, and the paucity of drama in the dialogues, then maybe you can enjoy reading a Pinter play.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
It is possible that stage design could invest some reality into Pinter’s words.
Maybe you have to be in a narrow frame of mind to experience some drama and some human wisdom when you read a Pinter play.
If you can ignore the tiresome repetition, and the not-so-pregnant pauses, and the paucity of drama in the dialogues, then maybe you can enjoy reading a Pinter play.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
September 16, 2019
Harold Pinter recibió el nobel de literatura en 2005 por ser "quien en sus obras desvela el precipicio bajo la charla cotidiana y obliga a la entrada en las salas cerradas de la opresión".
En este libro tenemos dos de sus primeras obras, La habitación que fue la primera que escribió en 1957, y la Fiesta de Cumpleaños.
Ambas obras presentan caracterísiticas muy similares, aparece el drama de lo absurdo y también están caracterizadas por la "comedia de amenaza".
En este libro tenemos dos de sus primeras obras, La habitación que fue la primera que escribió en 1957, y la Fiesta de Cumpleaños.
Ambas obras presentan caracterísiticas muy similares, aparece el drama de lo absurdo y también están caracterizadas por la "comedia de amenaza".
October 1, 2023
These are a great look at Pinter's earlier writing. Neither of these plays has aged particularly well and reflect the vocabulary and prejudices of the period and social settings of the mid-20th Century in the UK. However, they are worth reading for the snapshot of how one of the best playwrights of the 20th Century wrote the world as he saw it in the early part of his career.
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