The Basement (play)
Encyclopedia
The Basement is a television filmscript and stage play by Nobel Laureate
Harold Pinter
(1930–2008). It was written first as a screenplay for a film, then revised into a filmscript for television, and also produced on stage.
, New York, with Samuel Beckett
's Film
[1965] and Eugene Ionesco
's The Hard-Boiled Egg" (Baker and Ross 112). Of the three works planned for this trilogy of films, "only Film would be produced, being released in 1965" (112).
According to Pinter's official authorised biographer Michael Billington
, also cited by Baker and Ross (112), "Pinter's contribution The Compartment lay dormant until he rewrote it for television as The Basement" (Billington 191).
Director:
Cast:
, in October 1968, as part of a double bill with Pinter's play Tea Party
, directed by James Hammerstein
.
Cast:
Stage personnel:
, in London
, on 17 September 1970 ("The Basement", HaroldPinter.org) with a new cast.
Cast:
Billington, Michael
. Harold Pinter. 1996. London: Faber and Faber
, 2007.
Pinter, Harold
. The Basement. In Plays: Three. London: Eyre Methuen, 1978. ISBN 0413384892.
–––. The Lover, Tea Party, The Basement: Two Plays and a Film Script. New York: Grove Press, 1967. (An Evergreen Book E-432).
–––. Tea Party and Other Plays. London: Methuen, 1967. British first ed.; published 15 June 1967. (Baker and Ross 54–55).
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
(1930–2008). It was written first as a screenplay for a film, then revised into a filmscript for television, and also produced on stage.
Origin: "The Compartment"
The Basement is based on "The Compartment" (1965), an unpublished 27-page screenplay (circulated only in typescript) that Pinter wrote in 1963–65 "for a film never made, planned as part of a triple-bill, Project I promoted by Grove PressGrove Press
Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1951. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United States. The Atlantic Monthly Press, under the aegis of its...
, New York, with Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
's Film
Film (film)
Film is a film written by Samuel Beckett, his only screenplay. It was commissioned by Barney Rosset of Grove Press. Writing began on 5 April 1963 with a first draft completed within four days. A second draft was produced by 22 May and a forty-leaf shooting script followed thereafter...
[1965] and Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
's The Hard-Boiled Egg" (Baker and Ross 112). Of the three works planned for this trilogy of films, "only Film would be produced, being released in 1965" (112).
According to Pinter's official authorised biographer Michael Billington
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
, also cited by Baker and Ross (112), "Pinter's contribution The Compartment lay dormant until he rewrote it for television as The Basement" (Billington 191).
Setting
The "exterior" and "interior" of "a basement flat" in various seasons and at various times of day and night (Two Plays and a Film Script 91–112).Synopsis
Two men, (Tim) Law and (Charles) Stott, compete for possession of and dominance over a "basement flat" and their at-times mutual girlfriend, Jane. During the course of the play, they reverse roles with relation to each other, to the ownership or possession of the flat, and to their relationship with or possession of Jane. The changing furnishings of the room reflect their changing roles and who is in power over whom at various points in time. At first Jane appears to be submissive in relation to the men; but as the action develops, at times she appears to dominate each man and both of them. The character relationships between Stott and Law and the basic plot resemble Pinter's prose fiction works "Kullus" and "The Examination".Television première
First presented by BBC TV on 20 February 1967.Director:
- Charles Jarrott
Cast:
- Derek GodfreyDerek GodfreyDerek Godfrey was a British actor who appeared in several films and BBC television dramatizations during the 1960s and 1970s....
, Law - Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, Stott - Kika MarkhamKika MarkhamKika Markham is an English actress.Markham was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn . She has led a long career in the cinema, television, and theatre as an actress...
, Jane
Stage première: Eastside Playhouse, New York, October 1968
The Basement was first produced on stage at the Eastside Playhouse, in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in October 1968, as part of a double bill with Pinter's play Tea Party
Tea Party (play)
Tea Party is a play written by Harold Pinter, which Pinter adapted from his own 1963 short story of the same title. As a screenplay, it was commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union, directed by Charles Jarrott, and first transmitted on BBC Television in the programme The Largest Theatre in...
, directed by James Hammerstein
James Hammerstein
James Hammerstein was an American theatre director and producer. He was the son of Oscar Hammerstein II and his wife Dorothy ....
.
Cast:
- Ted van Griethuysen, Law
- James Ray Jane, Stott
- Margo Ann Berdeshevsky, Jane
Stage personnel:
- Ed Wittstein, Scenery
- Neil Peter JampolisNeil Peter JampolisNeil Peter Jampolis is a light designer, set designer, and stage director. He is best known for the light designing he did for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s 1975 production of Sherlock Holmes for which he won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award...
, Lighting - Deidre Cartier, Costumes
Duchess Theatre, London, September 1970
Hammerstein also directed another stage production at the Duchess TheatreDuchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on 17 September 1970 ("The Basement", HaroldPinter.org) with a new cast.
Cast:
- Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, Law - Barry FosterBarry Foster (actor)Barry Foster was a British actor who appeared in numerous film roles and is known for his leading role as a Dutch detective in the ITV drama series, Van der Valk, which spanned five series over 20 years from 1972....
, Stott - Stephanie BeachamStephanie BeachamStephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
, Jane
Works cited
Baker, William, and John C. Ross, comps. Harold Pinter: A Bibliographical History. London: The British Library (BL); New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press (OKP), 2005. ISBN 0712348859 (BL). ISBN 1584561564 (OKP).Billington, Michael
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
. Harold Pinter. 1996. London: Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, 2007.
Pinter, Harold
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. The Basement. In Plays: Three. London: Eyre Methuen, 1978. ISBN 0413384892.
–––. The Lover, Tea Party, The Basement: Two Plays and a Film Script. New York: Grove Press, 1967. (An Evergreen Book E-432).
–––. Tea Party and Other Plays. London: Methuen, 1967. British first ed.; published 15 June 1967. (Baker and Ross 54–55).
External links
- "The Basement" at HaroldPinter.org – The Official Website of the International Playwright Harold Pinter