The Birthday Party - Harold Pinter

The Birthday Party was Pinter's first full-length play and still stands as one of his best. It has been (over-) analysed over the years, almost as much as Waiting For Godot and yet, like Godot, can be summarised quite simply. Stanley is holed up in a dingy seaside borading house run by dotty Meg and her husband Petey, a deckchair attendant. He bullies Meg, who has some sort of queasy hold on him (a sexual relationship is hinted at) and flirts in a half-hearted manner with neighbour Lulu. When Meg announces that two men are coming to stay at the house, Stanley becomes agitated. It becomes clear ... more

This is written by Harold Pinter who was a playwright who was classed in the genre 'theatre of the absurd'. He has won two lifetime achievement awards, one for literature and one for theatre. This play has been revived several times and most recently my the Laurence Olivier and Oscar award winning director Sam Mendes This play is set in the 50's at a time of depression. It focuses on a boarding house in a coastal town. The play never actually leaves the kitchen and dining/living room. The house is owned by a couple, Petey and Meg. They have a very odd relationship that is made up of small talk ... more

The Birthday Party is based in a small boarding house in a coastal town, which is owned by two old dears and inhabited by just one lodger: Stanley. We have no idea who Stanley is or why he is there but he appears to have been staying in the boarding house for over a year. Stanley is obviously disturbed by his past, and we become increasingly aware of the extent of his mental turmoil when his past catches up with him. However, the key to enjoying this play is to put the facts aside. If I were to base my review on the plot, it would take up exactly two lines. What makes this play good is the ... more

This is truely one of the best plays i have ever read, seen or performed. It is so subtly sinister. Its an in your face drama without being in your face. Its riveting, yet nothing happens. The passage of time for a sleepy seaside guesthouse contains madness, emotional breakdowns, yet leaves you feeling like youve just chatted with a nextdoor neighbour. It is a play of opposites, and contradictions. The play is deffinately a credit to Pinter, how any man can derive such humour from a breakfast of cornflakes and fried bread is beyond me. The play is so dark and yet is truely innocent. i would ... more

Passionate about PC flight simulations? E3 2001 was a very exciting place to be. In one corner classic-in-waiting IL-2 Sturmovik was turning heads with its dramatic damage modelling and curious cast of aircraft; in another the jetset's great white hope Lock On: Modern Air Combat was drawing crowds with its convincing cockpits and pretty Crimean vistas. The other must-see booth for simmers that year belonged to Thrustmaster. It was showing the first prototype of the Cougar: a staggeringly high-quality HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) that looked like it had been ripped straight out of the ... more