The Birthday Party (1957) -Harold Pinter • Genre:Comedy of Menace • First full-length play • When Published:The Birthday Partywas published in 1957 and premiered in 1958. • First published (in London):by Encore Publishing (1959) • Setting:Rundown Seaside Boarding House • Wrote:while touring inDoctor in the House. • Total Acts:3 Acts • Game played in Stanley’s Birthday Party:Blind man’s buff(PYQ) Comedy of Menace • Term used:to describe the plays of David Campton and Harold Pinter by drama critic Irving Wardle • Writers:David Campton, Nigel Dennis, Harold Pinter and N.F. Simpson • Coined by:Irving Wardle • Borrowed (the term) from:Campton’s “The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace” • combines danger and comedy to invite the readers to form judgments about the characters.
