Monday, December 29, 2008

"No Man's Land" / a play by Harold Pinter

Nobel Prize winning playwright Harold Pinter is remembered as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, his numerous plays, scripts, and essays forever leaving a lasting impression on his generation. Known for portraying ambivalent characters within strongly conflicted atmospheres, his plays and movies are most notable for their tension-rendered scenarios, often executing scenes offset by harsh personal histories and constrained animosity. “No Man’s Land”, penned in 1970, depicts a confrontational meeting between two vague acquaintances and the subsequent dissolution and fallout as an end result.


"Down the hatch. Right down the hatch."


A bachelor in his sixties, Hirst may live alone but he's fond of sharing a drink with a friend every so often. A more or less struggling writer with little to do and less to get, he's pleased when he meets an old school acquaintance, Spooner, with whom he can share long-forgotten memories over a whisky and soda. Back at home the night takes an awkward turn, however, when one drink becomes too many and words transition into verbal taunts. With each man's mood escalating, the testosterone-charged atmosphere is only worsened when Hirst's two boarders, Foster and Briggs, invade the already unquiet setting. With all four soon well-intoxicated, a sobering calm steadily descends upon the scene, each character's sudden self-repose revealed as a distinct conviction of isolation and despair--'no man's land'. (822.914 PINTER)

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