Pinter at the Pinter

Loved Party Time/Celebration - it's that unsettling mood I wanted compared to the Lee Evans vaudeville of the last Pinter I saw there.

Can someone tell me the title of the music at the beginning. I know that I know it somewhere but...!

Pinter Five was something of a disappointment, especially considering the cast involved. Think it was just played rather slow.

Three plays (one in the first half, two in the second). 2 hours 10 minutes run time. Typically Pinter leaving you with lots of questions.

Highlight was Family Voices at the end. A charming piece with a strong performance by Luke Thallon.

Another good seat from TodayTix. Centre Row J Stalls, which would otherwise be premium. Good legroom, not the best rake but still a decent stage view. Sound very clear too.

If you’re choosing one to attend in the current pairing, Six is much stronger.

Enjoyed both 5 and 6 at the weekend

I was struck by the remarkable similarities between "Victoria Station" (which premiered in 1982) and "Car 67" by Driver 67 which was a hit in 1979.

Hmmm, i going to 5 and 6 on Thursday and will mention it to foh, see if they know anything.

Went to the BO after 6 today to enquire about Silence etc only to be told they were done at gala night and erm that was the sole performance! Bit rubbish if you ask me. 6 was good, 5 shortly.

Saw Party Time/ Celebration today. got todaytix rush seats, dress circle E12, great seat!

Didnt quite connect with PT, felt a little education-edgy staged as well with the chairs and the blackouts, not bad just not, great.

Celebration was easier and more enjoyable to connect with, Celia Imrie is just a class act isnt she?!

My big MVP and shot out goes to Katherine Kingsley, who was the reason that I really booked this, and whether its the roles or what she did with them she certainly got the best ones imo. I wish she had more name reciognition because she so deserves more than what she has.

Can't see anyone has said this yet.

There is now a companion book for the season covering all 7 shows with cast lists/cast and creative biographies and essays about the man himself.

Bought mine last night, is £12, personally is worth it. Got it from bookstall in foyer. No ISBN I can see so not sure how available it is elsewhere.

Saw both 5 and 6 yesterday. Full of great things. Weakest for me was Family Voices, despite great performances.

Stand out for me was Party Time. Loved the staging and power behind it.

Jane Horrocks and Eleanor Matsura were stand out of all the great actors in these

Oh ta, didnt see that when i was there Thursday, maybe it got delivered Saturday.

The RSC had one out in 2016 to commemorate 'a very special year' .

My wife bought it for me but, I must admit, I wasn't that impressed and it seemed more like an advertisement for the RSC than a celebration of what had appeared on their stages but maybe that was the point!

Have seen Four, five and six, much preferred five/Party Time and Celebration out of the three, what a great cast genuinely laugh out loud funny at points with some great lines, fantastic dialogue and characters engaging, but all were interesting, dark and humourous. Hadnt seen any Pinter before these and find myself now a big fan of his plays and writing.

"The Room" had the audience tittering inappropriately in its early part, I thought Rupert Graves was too reactive in his first appearance. Jane Horrocks grew into the part, from the dowdy old hen-pecker Pinter stereotype (also seen in The Birthday Party et al) to a vulnerable, damaged woman with a mysterious past. I am not entirely certain I understand this play even after all these plays but I still think it is powerful and a magnificent piece of writing.

"Family Voices" feels older than its years, as if it should have been written in Pinter's mid-period when he was putting characters on stage delivering monologues and not interacting with each other.

"Victoria Station" always has a pretty static feel on stage though Colin McFarlane and Rupert Graves milked the humour in the piece for all it was worth.

Pinter Six probably the "lightest" and most enjoyable session so far.

Surprising how well "Party Time" and "Celebration" go together with the background themes of strong (unelected) authority needed to run the country - in the case of "Party Time" shadowy elites in "Celebration" organised crime. Also allows the (excellent) cast plenty of fun in playing characters at opposing ends of the class spectrum.

There are shades of Ayckbourn in the snappy comic dialogue and situation comedy of the two plays, although "Celebration", at times, comes about as close as Pinter ever does in justifying his regular inclusion as a playwright of the (in reality non-existent) "absurd" school. Being Pinter of course there is a strong political subtext reinforced by, to my mind, an unnecessary coda to "Party Time" which is theatrically effective but upsets the balance of the play.

The casting in this double evening is superb and many of the actors have significant experience of playing Pinter. Particularly pleasing to see the versatility of Celia Imrie, now surely one of our theatre's grande dames, and the fun which old troupers Ron Cook and Phil Davis have in what practically burgeons onto a double-act between them over the course of the evening. All the cast are splendid and there are some brilliant lines, brilliantly delivered. 5/5 or 10/10 or whatever, top marks for this production.