His Own Domain: Harold Pinter, A Life in Theatre
10 January to 13 April 2008
09 January 2008
‘His Own Domain' pays tribute to Harold Pinter's life in the theatre as an actor, director, and writer of some of the most significant and celebrated plays of the 20th century. This small display in the British Library's Sir John Ritblat Gallery features a range of unique manuscripts, letters, photographs, and sound recordings. The British Library acquired Harold Pinter's extensive archive in December 2007.
The enduring and affectionate relationship between Pinter and his inspirational English teacher, Joe Brearley, who urged and encouraged Pinter towards a love of the English language, is explored through a selection of correspondence and the author's 1977 poetic tribute to his mentor.
Pinter's key role in post-War theatre and film is illustrated through his correspondence with David Mamet, in which he successfully persuaded the writer to allow him to stage the original – and abandoned- ending of Mamet's ‘Oleanna' at the Royal Court in 1993. Pinter's role in ‘Catastrophe' as part of the ‘Beckett on Film Project' in 2000 , directed by Mamet, also shows his debt to Beckett, and letters between the two legendary writers reveal their mutual admiration.
Pinter's first work for theatre was performed in a disused squash court over two nights in May 1957 by students at Bristol University, directed and produced by his great friend from Hackney days, Henry Woolf . ‘The Room', written for Woolf in just a few days while working in Rep, announced many of the themes of Pinter's work to come. Despite Pinter's subsequent play, ‘The Birthday Party', finding little favour with London critics a year later, ‘The Room' was enthusiastically received by the local press, and was revived at the National Student Drama Festival in January 1958. A carefully compiled scrapbook on display records all aspects of the play and the newspaper reviews.
Typewritten and manuscript drafts show the confinement and confrontation of characters in single rooms evident in early plays such as ‘The Room' and Pinter's first great success ‘The Caretaker' in 1960, and can be seen in later works, such as the screen-play for the 2007 film adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's play ‘Sleuth', directed by Kenneth Branagh.
On the first page of the first draft for ‘The Homecoming' visitors can see how the play develops. At this stage, the character of Lenny is only referred to as ‘[Son] 3', while ‘F[ather]' corresponds to Max. Numerous emendations and deletions are evident as Pinter works through his ideas, as are the trademark Pinter pauses, marked by a ‘p'.
Pinter's work has always been political, a challenging, provocative scrutiny of power relations and justice. A pertinent early example is Pinter's refusal to alter the text for his 1967 play ‘Landscape' to secure the censor's approval (the play was eventually staged in 1969 following the abolition of theatre censorship).
Pinter has been thoroughly involved in all aspects of theatrical creation. From his appearance in the Hackney Downs school play in 1947 to his astounding interpretation of Beckett's ‘Krapp's Last Tape' in 2006, Harold Pinter's engagement with and commitment to the theatre has been absolute and wide-ranging. His work beyond playwriting has included both directing and acting in his own work, such as his direction of ‘No Man's Land' in 2001 or his lead in ‘The Hothouse' in 1995 , and in 1997 he even anonymously designed an Italian production of his ‘Ceneri alle Ceneri' (Ashes to Ashes'), under the pseudonym ‘Gomez'.
The archive is to be catalogued and will be completed at the end of 2008.
For further information, contact Catriona Finlayson at the British Library Press Office: +44 (0)20 7412 7115 or catriona.finlayson@bl.uk
Notes for Editors
His Own Domain: Harold Pinter, A Life in Theatre, is on display in The Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library from 10 January to 13 April 2008. Admission free.
The British Library acquired the Harold Pinter archive in December 2007. The acquisition of the archive has been made possible thanks to the generosity of a number of donors: National Heritage Memorial Fund, Dr Alice Griffin, American Trust for the British Library, Michael Marks Charitable Trust, Friends of the British Library, Friends of the National Libraries, Royal National Theatre Foundation Old Possum's Practical Trust and the Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust. In addition, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation has contributed towards the costs of a temporary cataloguer to ensure the whole archive will be made available to the public as soon as possible.
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) is the ‘fund of last resort' for the nation's heritage, coming to the rescue by funding emergency acquisitions in memory of those who gave their lives for this country. In recognition of the vital role it plays and to help meet an increasing number of applications, the Government doubled NHMF's income from £5million to £10million for 2007-2008. In 2006, an NHMF grant of £250,000 helped the British Library to acquire the archive of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the greatest English Romantic poets.
For further information about the NHMF, please contact Dervish Mertcan or Alison Scott at NHMF press office. Tel: +44 (0)20 7591 6102 / 6032 Mobile : +44 (0)7973 613820 www.nhmf.org.uk
The UK Literary Heritage Working Group was established in March 2005 to develop and implement a national strategy to benefit the UK cultural and intellectual environment by ensuring that archives of pre-eminent modern and contemporary authors are retained and made accessible to UK audiences. Led by Lord Howarth of Newport, its members drawn from across the sector, including authors, publishers, dealers, funders, academics and collecting institutions, and other experts join as guests. http://www.literary.org.uk/index.php