Pinter's First and Last

Pinter's First and Last

Two one-act plays by Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter
Directed by Barry McKenna

"First and Last" is a unique double bill presenting the first and latest one-act plays by the legendary Harold Pinter, whose career spans nearly 50 years and who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. The master of the absurd and the so-called "Theatre of Menace" became a playwright in post-war London. His plays reflected the disturbing deprivations of the time and of a British working class that had lost its sense of purpose in a society confronting a new welfare state and the "cold war".

Venue: Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2B, Østerbro (Kraks Kort 138 E5)

Dates: 4-6 and 8-13 May 2006 at 8 p.m.

Ticket price : Dkr. 90 (Dkr. 70 for students under 18, pensioners and groups of 10 or more)

The Room (1957) reveals the harsh world of Rose, the tenant of a bed-sit in the heart of a city that seems oppressive, dark and diffuse. Her womb-like surroundings are invaded by a number of people, who help to intensify the tension that she lives under. As the threat to her security heightens by the sudden appearance of the blind stranger from the basement, we ask ourselves: what is the half-forgotten secret that will change her life for ever?

Celebration (2000) is a racy comedy and the product of a more mature Pinter after a long career as playwright, actor and screenwriter. Celebration takes place in yet another room, this time Pinter's favourite West End restaurant. The space is peopled with the new working class, the flashy nouveau riche with wads of cash born of post-Thatcherism. Although nearly 50 years separate the two plays, we have not moved out of a room that symbolises refuge. But in this day and age the refuge is one for the spoiled and over-privileged, who are no longer afraid of the threat on the stairs outside. Pinter leaves us with a touching image in the young waiter eager to interject. He represents the writer himself, seen in retrospect down the wrong end of a telescope. Can he find his way out of this bewildering space?

The Room
Bert Hudd - Frank Theakston
Rose Hudd - Maureen Egerup
Mr Kidd - Andrew Blackwell
Mrs Sands - Sue Hansen-Styles
Mr Sands - David Levy
Riley - Tai Segel

Celebration
Waiter - Tai Segel
Lambert - Andrew Blackwell
Julie - Nathalie Johnston
Matt - David Levy
Prue - Kathleen Seconder
Suki - Lakmini Besbroda
Russell - Frank Theakston
Richard - Gordon McMenamy
Sonia - Stephanie Miles Carlson