Your Invitation to a Birthday Party
The Birthday Party. Photo courtesy of Second Thoughts Drama Group.
The Birthday Party, written by Harold Pinter, production by Second Thoughts Drama Group, directed by Ian McLean, at The Bear Pit Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from 16-19 October 2024.
Preview.
A more sinister offering for the chillier days ahead, the third and final production of Second Thoughts’ 40th anniversary year will be Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, coming to The Bear Pit in October.
A tenser twist on the celebrations, this chilling classic begins in a dilapidated boarding house on the South Coast. Outside forces encourage landlady Meg to host the eponymous celebration for her only boarder Stanley. However, the night soon becomes filled with menace and the quiet of the boarding house is disrupted when the threatening Goldberg and McCann arrive to crash the party and turn Stanley’s life into a living hell.
Rehearsals for Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party. Photo courtesy of Second Thoughts Drama Group.
This was Pinter’s first full-length play and encapsulates the underlying peril of his later works. As well as creating a realistic 1950s boarding house, the production team has also been searching for period-specific props to populate Pinter’s world, including two symbolic yet almost identical drums and even a sock darner!
This led to a long quest for a deckchair attendant’s ticket machine. After weeks of searching, a single roll ticket Ultimate machine was kindly loaned to the group by Denis Chick, Press Officer and Trustee at the Transport Museum Wythall. It only has one reel, unlike a bus ticket machine which always had several reels for different price points. Audience members will be able to spot it on-stage next month!
Look out for the realistic 1950s props. Photo courtesy of Second Thoughts Drama Group.
Directed by Ian McLean, the small cast of six comprises Barry Purchase-Rathbone, Margot McCleary, David Hope, Noel Dollimore, Michael Thompsett, and Rachel Alcock.
The Birthday Party runs 16-19 October at The Bear Pit, Rother Street, Stratford Upon Avon, with performances starting at 7.30 pm and a Saturday matinee at 2.30 pm. Tickets cost £14 (£13 concession) and can be booked online at www.secondthoughts.org.uk/bookings, on 0333 666 3366, or on the door from one hour before the performance.
Contact The Bear Pit: https://www.thebearpit.org.uk/whats-on/the-birthday-party/
Recommended age: 16+ Please be aware that this play contains violence and references to sexual assault.
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