Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was a British playwright and theatre director. He began his career as an actor under the stage name David Baron. In 2005, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He became close friends with Arthur Miller and Samuel Beckett, the father of the Theatre of the Absurd, whose style had a great influence on him. His early works have been described as comedies of menace, taking place primarily in mysterious closed spaces and developing an apparently innocent situation into something unsettling and intimidating. His characters are alienated, experience obsessions and fears, and are tormented by unanswered questions, attempting unsuccessfully to communicate with one another and to come together to face a common threat. His language is everyday, but is peppered with pregnant pauses, and the humour alternates with cynicism. The long silences and unadorned but utterly personal style of his writing led to the term “Pinteresque” entering the language. He was an activist, and campaigned for peace, human rights and freedom of speech.

 

A short list of his plays:
The birthday party, The caretaker, The collection, The lover, The homecoming, The basement,  Old times, Betrayal.

 

Do you recognize an external force, responsible for you, suffering  for you? (The birthday party)

Brit. Surely the wound heals when you know the truth, doesn’t it? (The collection)