Pinter in the Theatre

An exploration of Harold Pinter's work in the theatre - through interviews with the man himself and with actors and directors who worked with him. 'Ian Smith paints a detailed picture of one of theatre's leading men in his collection of interviews, reviews and essays... a fascinating insight' - Observer Eight actors and directors who worked with Pinter in the theatre talk candidly about what it's like to appear in a Pinter play, to direct a Pinter play, to be directed by Pinter, to work alongside Pinter as an actor. The voices belong to directors Katie Mitchell and Sam Mendes, and to actors Barry Foster, Susan Engel, Roger Lloyd Pack, Roger Davidson, Douglas Hodge and Harry Burton. Before that come six interviews with Pinter himself, ranging from the earliest ever in 1960, when Pinter was 29, through the box-office successes of the seventies and the political plays of the eighties up to an extensive 1996 interview surveying the whole gamut of his work. Also included is an interview with Peter Hall, who directed the premieres of several of Pinter's best-known plays including The Homecoming and Old Times.

Ian Smith is a critic, writer and musician. He has held posts as a lecturer in modern and Renaissance literature at the Universities of Oxford, London, Warwick and Boston.