Pinter’s play was first performed in 1960, when its mixture of Monty Python-style absurd comedy and dark menace bewildered most audiences, but since then has been established as a classic of post-war theatre, and comes across today as brilliantly fresh and strange as ever. It is set in a seaside boarding-house, whose landlady, Meg, pampers its sole lodger Stanley Webber, apparently a retired pianist, regardless of her easy-going husband Petey. Two strangers arrive and take a mysterious interest in Stanley, throwing him a party even though he denies it is his birthday. A fun-loving girl, Lulu, is also invited, but the games being played are not just for laughs…
