The Caretaker

by Harold Pinter

Book Overview

THE STORY: The New York Times comments: An old bum receives shelter in a cluttered room of an abandoned house. His samaritan is a gentle young man whose kindness is so casual that he seems almost... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B000ZUBW3O
• Release Date: January 1964
• Publisher: Methuen
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Pinter as the poor bloke's Beckett

With this play which was first produced in 1960 Pinter became a well- known and admired dramatist. It is still considered one of his finest plays. It is the story of three character, Davies, an elderly wanderer who has been saved by the middle- aged Aston and brought into the home he shares with his brother Mick. The three characters in the course of the play talk at length and reveal their own respective characters. There is a sense of menace and threat in the relationships- and there is much focusing on trivialities of everyday life. The play in short is Pinteresque though it static quality, absurdity and illogic make it somewhat difficult to get a hold on. There are fine, and at times funny passages in the work. The down- and-out Davies who also goes by the name of Jenkins is frequently taunted by the younger brother Mick. Mick dreams of the apartment being elaborately restored. The middle brother Astin who has undergone shock treatments is often fragmented and broken. The play is filled with attacks on the major characters. . I have never been a big fan of the Theatre of the Absurd (Beckett, Ionesco, Pinter) and when I do like it it is because of the beautiful, lyrical passages which in my feeling Becket particularly excels in. For me Pinter is not bad, but far indeed from the status of writer whose works we would like to return to again and again.

Will There Ever Be A Caretaker?

Harold Pinter was born in London in 1930. In 1995 he won the David Cohen British Literature Prize, awarded for a lifetime's achievement in literature. On 30 May 1960, the play was presented by Michael Codron and David Hall at the Duchess Theatre, London, with the following cast: Mick, a man in his late twenties: Alan Bates Aston, a man in his early thirties: Peter Woodthorpe Davies, an old man: Donald Pleasance This is the story of three men. Mick is the proprietor of a shabby house in West London. Aston, his brother, is always busy with something but never accomplishes anything. Finally there is Davies, some kind of a hobo, adopted by Aston who gives him a place to sleep and - after a while - asks him if he wants a job as the caretaker. Davies is very reluctant and finds petty excuses to postpone the decision of becoming the caretaker. As the story unfolds, you ask yourself if anything will ever change and if anything important will ever happen ('No Exit' by J.P.Sartre comes to mind: four persons who will have to suffer each other for Eternity). The most impressive part of the play is the monologue by Aston in which he tells how he was treated with electro-shocks when he was a kid. This is one of the most gruesome parts I know in modern theatre. A final remark: when you read (or listen to) this play, you will soon find out that one of the most attractive parts of this play is the very lively and humorous dialogue

great suspense

Thrillingly suspenseful. The pages just seem to keep coming with excitment. Gunn henderson was a great character. The caretaker himself was a mastermind amazing character. Loved every minute of it. Only thing wrong is getting what you want!