Recently I saw a fiftieth anniversary production of Harold Pinter's play "The Birthday Party" at the Lyric Hammersmith theater. Basically, fifty years ago his first full length play was produced there and received terrible reviews. Though it closed after only eight performances, one critic astutely predicted that both Pinter and his play would be heard of again. Now, fifty years and one Nobel Prize later, his seminal work is back onstage at the same theatre, playing to sold out crowds.
I can only imagine how it feels to be Harold Pinter right now. The worldwide theatre community will be eternally grateful that he did not let the negative reviews get to him. His incomparable style was evident in "The Birthday Party" and, likely, was the very thing the critics lampooned. It was unlike anything they'd seen before and they had nothing good to say about it. However, he didn't change a thing. He kept on writing courageously and pushing the envelope as he had so boldly done with his unsuccessful debut and it's only in hindsight that we can see the value in that.
Neil Labute came to speak to study abroad students about theatre and his career as a writer. He urged us to be courageous in the theatre. He spoke out against playwrights who write tidy plays with few actor and simple technical requirements simply so that they can be produced. He said that a playwright needs to have something to say and they need to bravely say it how they want it said. Good theatre, he insisted, cannot possibly come about without risks. Risks like those taken by Harold Pinter.
Me, I worry too much about what people say or what I'm afraid they'll think. When I sit down to write I have these obnoxious little voices in my head saying "I don't get it" or "That's not funny" or "I don't like the ending." Sadly, I've let this get to me far too much and I feel my writing has suffered as a result. I don't take risks and I am not fiercely committed to my own work. And the time has come to change. If I want to make any waves I have to get in the water. (Wow, what an obnoxious cliche...) Seeing great theatre here has made me recognize the risks that are ALWAYS involved and the sublime joy that comes when one of those risks really pays off.
1 comment:
Something important that Neil Labute said that really stuck out to me clarifies something you said at the end here. Yeah, you have voices that say, "I don't like the ending" but that's the voice you SHOULDN'T ignore. LaBute made it pretty clear that you should do what pleases you. If you hate the ending, change it. But don't change it because producers (or worse test audiences) aren't keen on it. It takes years for most masterpieces to be realized. Don't forget that in 1957 "The Music Man" beat "West Side Story" for Best Musical - initial judgment is typically unprepared for innovation.
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