A Quick Guide to "The Birthday Party"

By Students' Academy

"The Birthday Party" is set in a boardinghouse. The play is focused mainly on Stanley, the only boarder at the boarding house.

Petey, the owner of the boardinghouse, and Meg, his wife, seem to be very complacent with their life and their boarder.

The action of the play begins when two gentlemen arrive and they get involved in the ensuing events. All hell breaks out after their arrival. They are mysterious characters and they have come to the boardinghouse to finish a job.

A Quick Guide to "The Birthday Party"
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Summary
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jan 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310379727

Students' Academy

Easy study guides for the students of English literature.

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A Quick Guide to The Birthday Party

Students' Academy

Copyright

A Quick Guide to The Birthday Party

Students' Academy

Copyright@2014 Students' Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter was written in 1957. It is Pinter’s second full length play.

There is no doubt that The Birthday Party is Harold Pinter’s best known and most frequently performed play.

When it was launched for the first time in London, the reaction was quite hostile, and it almost ended Pinter’s writing career, but with the time it began to be considered as a classic, thus establishing Harold Pinter as one of the best English dramatist in the entire world.

The Birthday Party had its world premiere at the Arts Theatre, in Cambridge, England, on 28th of April in the year 1958. It was produced by Michael Codron and David Hall.

The play was very well received on its pre-London tour, in Oxford and Wolverhampton. Even during that tour it got very positive reception.

The play moved to the Lyric Opera House on 19th of May, 1958. The Lyric Opera House was in Hammersmith, which is called Lyric Hammersmith now.

In London it was a commercial failure. It closed after only eight performances in London.

Although The Birthday Party was initially a commercial failure, it has since proved to be one of the most reproduced plays written by Harold Pinter.

The play was revived by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theater in London in the year 1964. It proved to be a critical success this time.

Chapter Two: Plot Summary

Act One

The opening scene of the first act opens in a living room of a boardinghouse in 1950s in England. The boarding house is at seaside. Petey is the owner of the boardinghouse.

Both Petey and his wife, Meg, are in their sixties. They are present in their living room, sitting at a table. They are conversing while having their breakfast.

Meg happens to be an inquisitive character; she keeps on peppering Petey with several questions about