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Home , Donald Wolfit, Harold Pinter

compiled and Know arranged by the Education Department the of the Shakespeare Show Theatre “Know the Show” support materials compiled and arranged by the Education Department of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Know the Show: No Man’s Land — 2 About the Playwright: Harold Pinter was born in 1930 in Hackney, a working-class “Pinter’s dialogue is as tightly - perhaps more tightly - controlled neighborhood in ’s East End, the son of a tailor. Both of than verse,” Martin Esslin writes. “Every syllable, every inflection, his parents were English-born Jews. As a child Pinter got along the succession of long and short sounds, words and sentences, well with his mother, but clashed with his father, who was a is calculated to nicety. And the repetitiousness, the strong disciplinarian. At the outbreak of World War II, Pinter was discontinuity, the circularity of ordinary vernacular speech are evacuated from the city to , where he lived with 26 other here used as formal elements with which the poet can compose his boys in a castle along the coast. This experience of being wrenched linguistic ballet.” from his parents was a traumatic and formative event for the 10- year old Pinter. “The condition of being bombed has never left Several of Pinter’s plays were originally written for British radio or me,” Pinter later said. TV. Beginning in the 1960s, he also directed several of his , and went on to direct plays by other authors as well. Closely Pinter was educated at Hackney Downs Grammar School, where associated with the director Sir , he became an associate he acted in school productions, directed by an English teacher director of the National Theatre after Hall was nominated as the who became his mentor, Joseph Brearley. , successor of Sir Lawrence Olivier. In the 1990s Pinter became more particularly poetry, became one of Pinter’s main interests. He active as a director than as a playwright. After (1978) avidly read the work of and . He Pinter wrote no new full-length plays until (1994). also ran track and played cricket— a sport which became a lifelong passion for him. Following the overthrow of Chile’s President Allende in 1973, Pinter became active in human rights issues. His opinions were often In 1948, Pinter enrolled in London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic controversial. During the Kosovo crisis in 1999, Pinter condemned Arts, but left after two unhappy years in which he skipped most of NATO’s intervention, saying it would “only aggravate the misery his classes. Around the same time, Pinter was fined by magistrates and the horror and devastate the country”. In his speech to an anti- for having, as a , refused to do his national war meeting at the House of Commons in November 2002, Pinter military service. Pinter had two trials. “I could have gone to prison joined the world-wide debate over the so-called “preventive war” - I took my toothbrush to the trials - but it so happened that the against Iraq: “Bush has said: ‘We will not allow the world’s worst magistrate was slightly sympathetic, so I was fined instead, thirty weapons to remain in the hands of the world’s worst leaders.’ Quite pounds in all. Perhaps I’ll be called up again in the next war, but right. Look in the mirror, chum. That’s you.” In February 2005 I won’t go.” Pinter’s father paid the fine in the end, a substantial Pinter announced in an interview that he had decided to abandon sum of money at the time. his career as a playwright and put all his energy into politics. “I’ve written 29 plays. Isn’t that enough?” In 1950 Pinter started to publish poems in Poetry (London) under the name Harold Pinta. He worked as a bit-part actor on a BBC Pinter received many awards, including the Berlin Film Festival Radio program, Focus on Football Pools. He also studied for a Silver Bear in 1963, BAFTA awards, including in 1996 the Laurence short time at the Central School of Speech and and toured Olivier Award for lifetime achievement in the theatre. In 2002 he from 1951 to 1952 with a Shakespearean troupe. In 1953 he was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature. In appeared during ’s 1953 season at the King’s Theatre 2005, Pinter was awarded the for literature. in . He was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in 2002, and After four more years in provincial under the continued to work and write despite his declining health for several pseudonym David Baron, Pinter began to write for . The years. Harold Pinter died on December 24, 2008, in London. Room (1957), originally written for Bristol University’s drama department, was finished in four days. , Pinter’s In His Own Words: first radio piece, was broadcast on the BBC in 1959. His first full- length play, The Birthday Party, was first performed by Bristol “I can sum up none of my plays. I can describe none of them, University’s drama department in 1957 and produced in 1958 in the except to say: That is what happened. That is what they said. That West End. The play, which closed with disastrous reviews after one is what they did.” week, dealt in a Kafkaesque manner with an apparently ordinary man who is threatened by strangers for an unknown reason. He “Once, many years ago, I found myself engaged uneasily in a public tries to run away but is tracked down. Although most reviewers discussion on the theatre. Someone asked me what my work was were hostile, Pinter produced in rapid succession the body of work ‘about.’ I replied with no thought at all and merely to frustrate this which made him the master of ‘the of menace.’ “I find line of enquiry: ‘The weasel under the cocktail cabinet.’ That was critics on the whole a pretty unnecessary bunch of people”, Pinter a great mistake. Over the years I have seen that remark quoted said decades later in an interview. “We don’t need critics to tell the in a number of learned columns. It has now seemingly acquired audiences what to think.” a profound significance, and is seen to be a highly relevant and meaningful observation about my own work. But for me the Pinter’s major plays often originate from a single, powerful visual remark meant precisely nothing. Such are the dangers of speaking image. They are usually set in a single room, whose occupants are in public.” threatened by forces or people whose precise intentions neither the characters nor the audience can define. The struggle for survival or identity dominates the action. Language is not only used as a means of communication but as a weapon. Beneath the words, silences may indicate rage, domination, or fear of intimacy. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Know the Show: No Man’s Land — 3 Commentary and Criticism If you know your Pinter, the underlying message is clear: Harold Pinter’s new play, No Man’s Land, is about precisely someone is foolishly getting into a situation that he won’t be what its title suggests: the sense of being caught in some able to understand, handle or escape... There they are, stuck mysterious limbo between life and death, between a world with their memories, hopes, insecurities and illusions. It’s of brute reality and one of fluid uncertainty. But although like watching four failed explorers marooned in Antarctica. plenty of plays, from Sweeny Agonistes to Outward Bound, have tried to pin down that strange sense of reaching into Benedict Nightingale a void, I can think of few that have done so as concretely, of London, 10/10/08 funnily and concisely as Pinter’s. In broad outline, No Man’s Land could be made to sound like In one way, the play is a masterly summation of all the a re-tread of the earlier classic, . Once again, themes that have long obsessed Pinter: the fallibility of a stranger, invited into a living space, opportunistically memory, the co-existence in one man of brute strength and tries to settle himself there on a permanent basis by sowing sensitivity, the ultimate unknowability of women, the notion dissension among the occupants, only to be stymied by that all human contact is a battle between who and whom. the powers of the status quo ante. Instead of a tramp, the interloper is Spooner, the failed, down-at-heel poet whom It is in no sense a dry, mannerist work but a living, theatrical Hirst, the grand man of letters, has picked up in a Hampstead experience full of rich comedy in which one speech pub. But, as this production suggests with a comic eeriness constantly undercuts another: a devastating four-letter and pervasive poetry, the later play is much more subjective word indictment of Spooner, for instance, is followed by and dream-like, almost as if the participants – Spooner, Hirst’s “yes, yes, but he’s a good man at heart: I knew him at Hirst, and the latter’s jumped-up thuggish minders, Foster Oxford,” and the minutely-timed laugh would not disgrace and Briggs – were warring aspects of a single psychic Jack Benny. Pinter’s achievement, in fact, is to have treated economy. comically a theme that most writers tackle with sententious gravity: that at any moment in time the real, tangible world Paul Taylor may turn out to be an illusion. , 10/09/08 Michael Billington Amid much crude and ribald language and some hilariously , 04/24/75 filthy one-liners, there are passages that recall T.S. Eliot at his finest... Even after three decades I cannot claim fully to understand this haunting drama that proves by turns funny, scary, and resonantly poetic, but I have no doubt that it is one of the handful of indisputable modern classics that Pinter has written, and a piece that will haunt and tantalise the memory of all who see it. Charles Spencer The Telegraph, 10/08/08

No theory will exhaust this play’s possibilities; but here it comes over as a drama of the alternative fates of a single man – two diverging roads; one leading to poverty and failure, but preserving a margin of hope; the other leading to fame and security, but at the price of creative impotence and imprisonment. And when their routes finally converge, each recognises the other as what, but for a stroke of good or bad luck, he might have been. Where do they meet? Joining the queue of those who have tried to crack the cryptic title, I suggest the dramatic equivalent of a neurological synapse: a no-man’s-land between two cells where information can pass without the restrictions that operate inside the cellular system. Past and present are obliterated, and any thought can freely bubble to the surface. Foster (Derek Wilson), Hirst (Edmond Genest) and Spooner () share a menacing moment in The Shakespeare Theatre of New The Independent, 02/14/93 Jersey’s 2010 Main Stage production of No Man’s Land. Photo © Joe Gei- nert. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Know the Show: No Man’s Land — 4 Director Bonnie J. Monte’s Thoughts on No Man’s Land No Man’s Land: 1) Land under dispute by two opposing Before his death in 2008, there were many who considered parties, especially the field of battle between the lines of Harold Pinter the world’s greatest living playwright. I was two opposing entrenched armies; 2) an area of uncertainty one of that group. There were, and are, many who consider or ambiguity; 3) a piece of land outside the north wall of his plays to be obtuse, threatening, annoying or just plain London that was assigned as a place of execution; 4) a boring. His work continues to provoke controversy and place of refuge that forbids any external intrusion much debate. I think he was a giant amongst playwrights for many reasons, not the least of which because he introduced Apparently, Harold Pinter once received a letter that read: a new form and a new step in the progression of realistic drama, though he is often called an absurdist. Whether one “Dear Sir, I would be obliged if you would kindly is a fan or not, one cannot deny that his linguistic dexterity, explain to me the meaning of your play The Birthday his comedic and poetic powers, and his ability to provoke Party. These are the points which I do not understand: are prodigious—his themes universal, archetypal and often 1. Who are the two men? 2. Where did Stanley come epic. from? 3. Were they all supposed to be normal? You will appreciate that without the answers to my questions I His work continues to be dissected and probed by literary cannot fully understand your play.” and drama critics, psychoanalysts, dream analysts, scholars, teachers, directors, actors, and of course, the viewers of his Pinter is said to have replied as follows: plays. I think many of his plays will stand the test of time and fall into the elite group of classic masterworks that bridge all “Dear Madam, I would be obliged if you kindly explain eras and cultures. And I think that No Man’s Land, without to me the meaning of your letter. These are the points a doubt, falls into that category. Like and , which I do not understand: 1. Who are you? 2. Where or any great drama, it defies concise definition and analysis, do you come from? 3. Are you supposed to be normal? and like those plays, it presents a vast number of different You will appreciate that without the answers to these interpretations, and has a very different impact on each questions I cannot fully understand your letter.” person who sees or reads it. It deals, at its core, with the “Let us go then, you and I, same issues that Shakespeare deals with in his great works, When the evening is spread out against the sky albeit in a very different poetic form. There are neither Like a patient etherized upon a table.” definitively correct interpretations of Pinter’s works, nor incorrect ones; like any great poem or piece of art, they are, –The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, 1917 ultimately, given their meaning by the viewer or reader. T.S. Eliot Working on Pinter, both as an actor and director, does require one to be a sort of detective. One attempts to decipher language patterns and devices, pauses, silences, things that seem to be symbols (one is never quite sure), archetypal connections, behavior, and literary allusions in order to define the various levels of meaning in which one has to immerse oneself in order to create a way to “play” the music of his plays. I think they exist on so many parallel dimensions: reality, super-reality, symbolic, metaphorical, dream life, internal and external; and instinct often leads the way in directing a Pinter piece.

The meaning of what you see this evening is up to you. However, I do encourage you to stay after the performance for our nightly talk-back with myself and the actors. And, if you are so inclined, there are numerous sources one can access in order to learn more about this play, or about Mr. Pinter’s entire canon.* Coincidentally and happily, Lady ’s memoir, Must You Go?: My Life With Harold Pinter will soon be available. What began as a scandalous affair with Pinter in the 1970’s evolved into a Spooner (Sherman Howard, standing) converses with Hirst (Edmond Gen- long and devoted romance, and Lady Antonia’s memoir, I est) while Briggs (Paul Mullins) and Foster (Derek Wilson) look on in The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s 2010 Main Stage production of No think, can shed some glimmers of light on No Man’s Land. Man’s Land. Photo © Gerry Goodstein. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Play’s the Thing “Know the Show” — 5 More than anything, I encourage you to just let the play hit Pinter’s Plays: A Selected Chronology you viscerally. Since there is no agreement on its meaning, trying to make sense of it intellectually while one is watching it, will, I think, diminish one’s ability to just sense what it means for you. No one is expected to walk out with a fully articulated estimation of its implications. No matter what, (1957) I encourage you to be open to its humor, its poetry, its wonderful mystery, its allegories and its spectacular ability THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (1957) to simultaneously reside in everfluctuating realms of time, (1957) space, and perception. A SLIGHT ACHE (1958) “Between the idea And the reality (1958) Between the motion And the act THE CARETAKER (1959) Falls the shadow.” THE DWARFS (1960) The Hollow Men, 1925 T.S. Eliot (1961)

“Wavering between the profit and the loss (1962) In this brief transit where the dreams cross The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying.” (1964)

Ash Wednesday, 1930 (1970) T.S. Eliot NO MAN’S LAND (1974) “The fabric never breaks. The wound is open. The wound is contained. The wound is peopled.” BETRAYAL (1978)

THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN Harold Pinter “A Note on Shakespeare” (screenplay- 1980) “Do not go gentle into that good , OTHER PLACES (1982) Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” ONE FOR THE ROAD (1984)

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, 1952 THE HANDMAID’S TALE (screenplay- 1987) Dylan Thomas THE NEW WORLD ORDER (1991) *Some interesting things to read in relation to No Man’s Land and Harold Pinter’s canon: MOONLIGHT (1994)

The Peopled Wound: TheWork of Harold Pinter by (1996) Martin Esslin (1999) Pinter: The Playwright by Martin Esslin (screenplay- 2007) The Dream Structure of Pinter’s Plays: A Psychoanalytic Approach by Lucina Paquet Gabbard

No Man’s Land as Dream Play by Prapassaree T. Kramer

No Man’s Land: A Variation on Harold Pinter’s Theme of “Menace” by Hongwei Chen

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot

The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Know the Show: No Man’s Land — 6

About The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Sources for this study guide The acclaimed Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of (and other resources): the leading Shakespeare theatres in the nation. Serving nearly 100,000 adults and children annually, it is New Jersey’s only Batty, Mark. About Pinter: The Playwright and the Work. professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare’s London: Faber, 2005. canon and other classic masterworks. Through its distinguished productions and education programs, the company strives to illuminate the universal and lasting relevance of the classics Billington, Michael. The Life and Works of Harold Pinter. for contemporary audiences. The longest-running Shakespeare London: Faber, 1996. theatre on the east coast, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey marks its 48th season in 2010. Raby, Peter, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Harold In addition to producing and presenting classic theatre, the Pinter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Theatre’s mission places an equal focus on education— both for young artists and audiences of all ages. The Theatre nurtures www.haroldpinter.org emerging new talent for the American stage and cultivates future audiences by providing extensive student outreach opportunities. www.wikipedia.org Through our work, we endeavor to promote literacy, civilization, community, cultural awareness, the theatrical tradition, and a more enlightened view of the world in which we live and the people with whom we share it.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of 20 professional theatres in the state of New Jersey. The company’s dedication to the classics and commitment to excellence sets critical standards for the field. Nationwide, the Theatre has emerged as one of the most exciting “new” theatres under the leadership of Artistic Director Bonnie J. Monte since 1990. It is one of only a handful of Shakespeare Theatres on the east coast, and in recent years has drawn larger and larger audiences and unprecedented critical acclaim. The opening of the intimate, 308-seat F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in 1998, provided the Theatre with a state- of-the-art venue with excellent sightlines, and increased access for patrons and artists with disabilities.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is a member of ArtPride, The Shakespeare Theatre Association of America, Theatre Communications Group, and is a founding member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Spooner (Sherman Howard) in The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s 2010 Main Stage production of No Man’s Land. Photo © Gerry Good- stein.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is an independent, professional theatre located on the Drew University campus.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional major support is received from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the F. M. Kirby Foundation, The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and Drew University, as well as contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals. Crystal Rock Bottled Water is the official water supplier of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Significant support for The Shakespeare Theatre’s 2010 education programs is provided by Ameriprise Financial, Investors Savings Bank, The Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation, and The Provident Bank Foundation.

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