ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

The Dumb Waiter is considered by some to be the best of Harold Pinter’s early plays. This absurdist comedy is a two-character play set in the basement of an old rooming house, connected to the rooms above by a dumbwaiter and an intercom. Ben and Gus make small talk and wait. It becomes obvious that they are hired killers who are waiting for their victim, whose identity they have not yet been told.

ABOUT THE PLAY

Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter (1930-2008) is one of Britain’s most well known playwrights, directors, screen writers and actors. He wrote for over 50 years of his life, and completed 29 plays and 15 dramatic sketches. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but did not complete the course. He was fined for refusing national service as a conscientious objector. Subsequently, he continued training at the Central School of Speech and Drama and worked in repertory theatre in Ireland and England. Harold continued to perform into his 70s, including the title role in Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court for their 50th anniversary in 2001.

The Dumb Waiter is considered by some to be the best of Harold Pinter’s early plays. This absurdist comedy is a two-character play set in the basement of an old rooming house, connected to the rooms above by a dumbwaiter and an intercom. Ben and Gus make small talk and wait. It becomes obvious that they are hired killers who are waiting for their victim, whose identity they have not yet been told.