On this day in 1930 Harold Pinter was born. Although now a Nobel laureate, a "Companion of Honour" (he turned down the knighthood), a recipient of Europe's top theater awards (the Shakespeare, the Olivier, the Pirandello, the Moliere ...), and author of some five-dozen plays and screenplays over fifty years, Pinter had a rough start. The Birthday Party, his first professional production in 1957, got not just bad but mocking reviews and closed after a week. When Pinter arrived late for the Thursday performance, he tried to rush past the usherette to a seat ... FULL STORY »
