Book Description

Why were Harold Pinter’s plays met with so much disdain in the early years, when he has since been acknowledged as one of the greatest British dramatists of the twentieth century? In this study, Binnie Brand Yeates examines and compellingly demonstrates, through Pinter’s striking theatrical skills and the behaviour, motivation and language of the characters in the plays written between 1957 and 1964, the probable cause of the alienation, and leaves no doubt that, though controversial, Pinter has in fact always been an extremely powerful and accomplished playwright. One of the first commentaries ever written on Pinter’s plays, now with a 2013 Postscript covering 'The Hothouse' and selected plays written between 1978 and 1991, this is an original, thought-provoking and eye-opening interpretation, an essential reader for students, theatre lovers and Pinter devotees alike. “What Binnie Yeates offers here is not just another set of thoughts on Pinter's early plays, but one that captures a snapshot of the growth of his reputation in the mid-sixties. Based upon a dissertation that Binnie wrote in 1966, she effectively summarises the first key phase of Pinter’s writing up to and including the career-defining 'The Homecoming'. With little dedicated Pinter scholarship available at the time of the original study, Yeates considered Pinter free from too much critical noise on her subject, and did so predominantly through considering character and motivation. She offers thoughts on Pinter's signatures of menace, status and game-playing, and how his work affected audience through specific uses of language and the impact of disorientation. The work captures an admiration for the playwright in a passionately articulated defence and appreciation of his plays, and reminds us of a time when his reputation was still being defined.” Dr Mark Taylor-Batty Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies, University of Leeds; Executive, International Harold Pinter Society