Pinter, one of England’s greatest modern playwrights, was also an outspoken social commentator and renowned for his witty put-downs. He wrote many of his best-known works in the ‘60s, but continued writing and performing right up to his death in 2008.
The Homecoming is a disturbing, enigmatic and darkly comic play about a warring North London family. It won the Tony Award for Best Play on Broadway in 1967, and the 40th anniversary production was Tony nominated for Best Broadway Revival.
College professor Teddy, the eldest son of a working-class family, returns to his childhood home after living in the United States for several years. Teddy brings with him his wife, Ruth, who initially seeming to be a fish out of water, quickly comes to be accepted by the family in a way Teddy could never have planned. The sexual tension mounts as Ruth teases Teddy's brothers and father, and the men taunt one another in a game of one-upmanship, which ends badly for more than one of them.
Director Lynne Morris states, “The first serious play I ever saw was Pinter’s The Birthday Party, but my favourite was always The Homecoming. Pinter’s skilled writing and lack of judgement ensure The Homecoming retains its hold over viewers imaginations. Is it a Freudian study with subconscious Oedipal desires? An ethological study of humanity? Sexist and degrading or feminist and empowering?
It can be all those things and because Pinter never moralises or resolves the situation, you’ll leave with questions buzzing in your head about the characters, their past and their future...”
Studio at Festival Theatre, Potterrow, Edinburgh Wed 16 – Sat 19 May
Tickets £12 (£10) from Festival Theatre Box Office: 0131 529 6000