McCarter Theatre is pleased to present a new production of Nobel-prize winning playwright Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, a spine-chilling comic riff on free-floating menace, directed by Artistic Director Emily Mann.

In his book Pinter in the Theatre Ian Smith describes the “dramatic Pinteresque”- “tension and threatened violence are mediated by irony, humour and literary seriousness, underpinned by an unmistakable readiness to stand and fight if necessary.”  It’s an apt description of a writer whose work reflects elements of modernism and absurdism, along with carefully conceived structure, characters, and, remarkably, commercial success.  A master of the pause and subtext, Pinter’s plays challenge actors, directors, and audience to engage with his text and ideas, and ponder all the questions Pinter leaves unanswered.  McCarter is thrilled to be producing this timely canonical work.