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Press Releases
Pinter leads cast in new
Radio 3 production of The 91Èȱ¬coming
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Harold Pinter leads the cast in a new 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3 production of his 1964 play The
91Èȱ¬coming.
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This is the first time the playwright has played Max, the
domineering father at the heart of the darkly comic dysfunctional family play.
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It will be broadcast on Radio 3 on Sunday 18 March 2007.
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Harold Pinter plays Max, alongside Michael Gambon who takes the role of his
brother Sam.
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His sons are played by Sam West (Lenny), Rupert Graves(Teddy) and James Alexandrou (Joey); and Gina McKee plays Ruth.
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The director is
Thea Sharrock.
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Harold Pinter says: "I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm playing the old
man. Since I'm now an elderly man, I'm ready for it."
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The 91Èȱ¬coming's brilliant dialogue, dark humour and air of menace have long
marked it out as one of Pinter's finest and most important works.
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Set in a
North London terrace, it centres on the suffocating relationship of tyrannical
father Max, his sons, Lenny and Joey, and his brother, Sam.
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The bitter all-male
family unit is upset by the arrival home of eldest son Teddy, visiting from
America for the first time, with his wife Ruth.
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The piece explores the themes
of oppression, violence, sexuality and power as the male family members vie to
exert their dominance over the new female in the house.
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Abigail Appleton, Head of Speech Programmes, Radio 3, says: "Radio 3 is
delighted to be able to bring audiences this modern classic in what promises to
be a landmark production and to continue the station's long relationship with
one of the major cultural figures of our time."
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Harold Pinter's connections with radio began when he was hired as a young actor
by respected producer Reggie Smith in 1950.
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Donald McWhinnie commissioned
Pinter's first radio play, A Slight Ache, following the critically-abused
opening of his first major play, The Birthday Party, in 1958.
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Harold Pinter, CBE, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.
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In February
2005 Harold Pinter announced that, after 29 plays, he was to retire from
playwriting to concentrate on political activism and poetry.
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The first
production of The 91Èȱ¬coming, directed by Sir Peter Hall, was staged in 1965.
Pinter previously played Lenny in a 1969 production.
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Drama on 3: The 91Èȱ¬coming by Harold Pinter,
91Èȱ¬ Radio 3, Sunday 18 March 2007, 8.00-9.55pm
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