Rep Plays and Pinter Plays

Abstract

Although Pinter has had little to say in particular terms about how his years in rep have affected his play-writing, he has made a number of general comments on the subject in the interview with Richard Findlater cited at the beginning of Chapter 1. Pinter points to what he considers fundamental influences upon him as a playwright:

Yes, my experience as an actor has influenced my plays — it must have — though it’s impossible for me to put my finger on it exactly. I think I certainly developed some feeling for construction which, believe it or not, is important to me, and for speakable dialogue. I had a pretty good notion in my earlier plays of what would shut an audience up; not so much what would make them laugh; that I had no ideas about. Whenever I write for the stage I merely see the stage I’ve been used to. I have worked for theatre in the round and enjoyed it, but it doesn’t move me to write plays with that method in mind. I always think of the normal picture-frame stage which I used as an actor.¹