Nobel Prize-winning dramatist Harold Pinter's London premiere of his debut, ‘The Birthday Play’ was detested by most critics - on 19th May, 1958.
Set in a mundane seaside boarding house, the play initially lures audiences in with a naturalistic facade, before plunging them into a perplexing, uncomfortable narrative. Critics lambasted the production for its nonsensical dialogue and lack of clarity; lines of attack which were not eased by Pinter's lifelong refusal to offer explanations. The sole exception was a positive review from The Sunday Times’s Harold Hobson - but this was printed after the show had already been pulled.
In this episode, The Retrospectors explain how Pinter’s play nonetheless left a lasting impact on British theatre; reveal who ‘Betrayal’ was REALLY about; and attempt to quantify the value of the Pinteresque pause...
Further Reading:
• ‘Hated by critics, the new boy Harold Pinter’ (Sunday Times, 1958): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-the-archive-hated-by-critics-the-new-boy-harold-pinter-wjj2mssv8vp
• ‘Fighting talk’ (The Guardian, 2008): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/03/theatre.stage
• ‘The Birthday Party, By Harold Pinter’ (BBC, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vbXyXeEDhU&t=64s
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.
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