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Harold Pinter: Histories & Legacies

An AHRC-funded project (Universities of Leeds, Birmingham & Reading)

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Author Archives: Billy Smart

Harold Pinter at ITV

Harold Pinter: Histories & Legacies avatarPosted on 20th March 2019 by Billy Smart20th March 2019

Although primarily remembered as a theatrical writer, Harold Pinter’s early dramas reached a greater audience through Britain’s recently launched commercial television network, ITV. Between 1960 and 1966, ITV viewers enjoyed eight plays by Pinter, all broadcast in evening prime time, a full-length production of The Birthday Party (1960) followed by versions of The Dumb Waiter, The Room (both 1961) and The Caretaker (1966). In addition, ITV premiered four original Pinter … Continue reading →

Posted in Television | Tagged A Night Out, Armchair Theatre, Billy Smart, ITV, Night School, The Collection, The Lover

Pinter at the BBC: What the Censor Sees.

Harold Pinter: Histories & Legacies avatarPosted on 28th January 2019 by Billy Smart28th January 2019

The long-awaited BFI DVD collection, Pinter at the BBC, is released today. Over five discs, the anthology includes 10 versions of Pinter plays made by the BBC between 1965-88. As all ten are new to any home video format, the release increases the amount of Pinter UK television material publicly available by 500%. In addition to the plays, the collection also includes a wealth of supplementary material – four of … Continue reading →

Posted in Television | Tagged A Night Out, A Slight Ache, BFI, Billy Smart, DVD, Landscape, Monologue, Mountain Language, Old Times, Tea Party, The Basement, The Birthday Party, The Hothouse

Booking open for ‘Pinter on Film, Television and Radio’ conferences at University of Reading and British Library (19-20 September 2018)

Harold Pinter: Histories & Legacies avatarPosted on 8th August 2018 by Billy Smart11th July 2019

[This is a post for the 2018 conference. For the 2019 conference in Leeds, please click here] Booking is now open for our two day ‘Pinter on Film, Television and Radio’ conference, held at the University of Reading on Wednesday September 19 and the British Library on Thursday September 20. Each day has a particular focus. ‘Pinter on Screen’ at Reading deals with Pinter’s work on film and television, while … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptation, Film, Radio, Stage, Television | Tagged BBC, British Library, Conferences, University of Reading

‘A jolly jumble of theatrical cliches’: 1958 ‘Cherwell’ review of ‘The Birthday Party’

Harold Pinter: Histories & Legacies avatarPosted on 25th September 2017 by Billy Smart27th September 2017

Elkan Presman’s 1958 review of the original production of The Birthday Party in the Oxford University student newspaper Cherwell is one of the very earliest Pinter reviews to have been published, and has not been reproduced in its entirity since. A striking aspect of the review is the impression that it gives the reader of how (some of) its original audience might have registered the play – functioning through “a … Continue reading →

Posted in Stage | Tagged Oxford Playhouse, Peter Woods, The Birthday Party

Harold Pinter on DVD and Blu-ray: A Guide

Harold Pinter: Histories & Legacies avatarPosted on 20th July 2017 by Billy Smart14th August 2017

When looking for DVD or Blu-ray copies of Harold Pinter’s work on screen, a simple rule generally applies – if it was made for television it is unlikely to have been commercially released, whereas if it was a film it almost certainly has (but it might well now be deleted). This article is intended to serve as a simple guide to what has been made available and (where it applies) … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptation, Film, Television | Tagged A Night Out, Accident, Adam Hall, Aidan Higgins, Alan Bates, Anthony Shaffer, Armchair Theatre, BBC, Betrayal, Butley, Christopher Morahan, Clive Donner, Comfort of Strangers, David Jones, Elia Kazan, Elizabeth Bowen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Franz Kafka, Fred Uhlman, Harry Burton, Heat of the Day, Helen Mirren, Ian McEwan, Jack Clayton, Jerry Schatzberg, John Fowles, John Irvin, Joseph Losey, Karel Reisz, Kenneth Branagh, L.P. Hartley, Langrishe Go Down, Laurence Olivier, Malcolm McDowell, Margaret Atwood, Melvyn Bragg, Michael Anderson, Nicholas Mosley, Nobel Prize, Paul Rogers, Penelope Mortimer, Peter Hall, Philip Saville, Reunion, Robin Maugham, Russell Hoban, Simon Gray, Sleuth, The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Collection, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Go-Between, The Handmaid's Tale, The Homecoming, The Last Tycoon, The Pumpkin Eater, The Quiller Memorandum, The Servant, The Trial, Turtle Diary, Volker Schlondorff
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