tracker
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!
Home For You Chat My Shows (beta) Register/Login Games Grosses
Harold Pinter Headshot

Harold Pinter

Birth Place: ENGLAND

read more news

Get Harold Pinter Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

BIO

Harold Pinter was an English playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor, widely regarded as one of the most influential and important dramatists of the 20th century. Born in Hackney, East London, on October 10, 1930, Pinter grew up in a working-class Jewish family. He attended Hackney Downs School, where he excelled in English literature and drama, and later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.


Pinter's early career was marked by a series of odd jobs, including working as a waiter, a sweeper, and a repertory actor. In 1957, he achieved his breakthrough as a playwright with his first full-length play, The Birthday Party, which premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London. The play was initially panned by critics, but it later became recognized as a masterpiece of modern drama.
Pinter's subsequent plays, including The Caretaker (1960), The Homecoming (1965), and Betrayal (1978), established him as a major force in the theatre world. His plays are known for their sparse, elliptical dialogue, their use of silence and pauses, and their exploration of power dynamics and human relationships. Pinter's work has been described as a blend of comedy and menace, a reflection of the absurdity and brutality of modern life.
In addition to his work as a playwright, Pinter was also a prolific screenwriter, penning scripts for films such as The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), and Sleuth (2007). He also directed several of his own plays, as well as films and television productions.
Pinter was a vocal political activist, and his work often reflected his left-wing views. He was a staunch critic of American foreign policy, particularly in relation to the Iraq War, and he was a member of the Stop the War Coalition. In 2005, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, in recognition of his "unmistakable voice, that with a minimum of means, captures the underlying universal truths of human existence."
Pinter's stage work was also recognized with numerous awards and accolades. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play for The Caretaker and The Homecoming, and he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play for Betrayal. He was also awarded the Companion of Honour in 2002, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2005.
Pinter's legacy continues to influence contemporary theatre, film, and literature. His plays are regularly produced around the world, and his screenplays are studied in film schools and universities. His influence can be seen in the work of many contemporary playwrights, including David Mamet and Martin McDonagh.
Despite his success and critical acclaim, Pinter remained a private and enigmatic figure. He was married to actress Vivien Merchant from 1956 to 1980, and later to author Antonia Fraser. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2001, but continued to work and write until his death on December 24, 2008.
In conclusion, Harold Pinter was a towering figure in 20th-century theatre, whose work continues to captivate and challenge audiences. His plays and screenplays are marked by their distinctive style and their exploration of power, politics, and human relationships. Pinter's legacy is a testament to the enduring power of art to illuminate and transform the world around us.

Photos

Productions

Old TimesOld Times
 
[Broadway, 2015]
Playwright
Otherwise Engaged
 
[Broadway, 1977]
Director
The Innocents
 
[Broadway, 1976]
Director
The Man in the Glass Booth
 
[Broadway, 1968]
Director

Writing

Play/ The Lover
Playwright
Landscape/ Silence
Playwright
Playwright
The Homecoming
Playwright
Playwright
Playwright
Other Places
Playwright
Old Times
Playwright
The Birthday Party
Playwright
Playwright
Moonlight
Playwright
The Hothouse
Playwright
Ashes to Ashes
Playwright
Old Times
Playwright
No Man's Land
Playwright
The Homecoming
Playwright
The Caretaker
Playwright
Betrayal
Playwright

Movies

The Servant
[ 1963 ] People in restaurant: Society Man
The Guest
[ 1963 ] writer
The Pumpkin Eater
[ 1964 ] writer
The Quiller Memorandum
[ 1966 ] writer
Modesty Blaise
[ 1966 ] writer
Accident
[ 1967 ] Bell - TV Producer
The Birthday Party
[ 1968 ] writer
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
[ 1970 ] Steven Hench
The Go-Between
[ 1971 ] writer
The Homecoming
[ 1973 ] writer
The Last Tycoon
[ 1976 ] writer
The French Lieutenant's Woman
[ 1981 ] writer
Betrayal
[ 1983 ] writer
Turtle Diary
[ 1985 ] Man in Bookshop
Reunion
[ 1989 ] writer
The Comfort of Strangers
[ 1990 ] writer
The Handmaid's Tale
[ 1990 ] writer
The Trial
[ 1993 ] writer
Mojo
[ 1997 ] Sam Ross
Mansfield Park
[ 1999 ] Sir Thom Bertram
The Tailor of Panama
[ 2001 ] Uncle Benny
Sleuth
[ 2007 ] Man on T.V.

Awards and Nominations

The Lortels - 2011 - Outstanding Revival

Harold Pinter, The Collection & A Kind of Alaska


winner
Evening Standard Awards - 2004 - Lebedev Special Award

Harold Pinter


winner
The Lortels - 1999 - Outstanding Lifetime Achievement

Harold Pinter


winner
Olivier Awards - 1996 - The Society's Special Award

Harold Pinter

Olivier Awards - 1993 - Best Revival of a Play or Comedy

Harold PinterNo Man's Land

Olivier Awards - 1981 - Director of the Year

Harold PinterQuartermaine's Terms


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1980 - Best Foreign Play

Harold Pinter, Betrayal


winner
Olivier Awards - 1979 - Play of the Year

Harold PinterBetrayal

Drama Desk Awards - 1977 - Best New Foreign Play

Harold Pinter, No Man's Land

New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1977 - Best Play

Harold Pinter, No Man's Land

New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1972 - Best Foreign Play

Harold Pinter, Old Times

Tony Awards - 1972 - Best Play

Harold Pinter, Old Times

Tony Awards - 1969 - Best Direction of a Play

Harold Pinter, The Man in the Glass Booth


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1967 - Best Play

Harold Pinter, The Homecoming


winner
Tony Awards - 1967 - Best Play

Harold Pinter, The Homecoming

Tony Awards - 1962 - Best Play

Harold Pinter, The Caretaker


winner
Evening Standard Awards - 1960 - Best Play

Harold PinterThe Caretaker

Videos

More Videos

News


The George Devine Award Unveils 2025 Shortlist of Four Playwrights Photo
The George Devine Award Unveils 2025 Shortlist of Four Playwrights
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 19, 2025

The George Devine Award has revealed its 2025 Shortlist of four playwrights. Formed in 1966 in memory of the Royal Court’s founding Artistic Director George Devine, the Award is recognised as one of the most prestigious in new writing.
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld November 19, 2025- CURSED CHILD Grosses Get A Boost from T Photo
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld November 19, 2025- CURSED CHILD Grosses Get A Boost from Tom Felton and More
by - Nov 19, 2025

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is November 19, 2025 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe Will Make West End Debuts in ROMEO & JULIET in 2026 Photo
Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe Will Make West End Debuts in ROMEO & JULIET in 2026
by Stephi Wild - Nov 18, 2025

Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe will star in Romeo & Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre next year, both making their West End debuts. Learn more about the upcoming production here!
Review: THE FORCE AWAKENS IN CONCERT, Royal Albert Hall Photo
Review: THE FORCE AWAKENS IN CONCERT, Royal Albert Hall
by Franco Milazzo - Nov 17, 2025

The stories about the latest entry in the Royal Albert Hall’s Film In Concert series are insane. There was the intense secrecy over that moment, Daniel Craig’s secret cameo, Mark Hamill’s perma-beard and then the issues with Harrison Ford’s long hair and broken foot. With a sky-high budget north of 500 million dollars, the most anticipated movie of 2015 went on to break the $2bn barrier at the box office and JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now the sixth-highest grossing flick ever made. 
REPLACED! Comes to Brick Aux Photo
REPLACED! Comes to Brick Aux
by Stephi Wild - Nov 14, 2025

Laurizarry will present REPLACED! Written and directed by Jess Lauricello. The production will be presented with The Brick at Brick Aux next month. Learn more here!
Sarah Jessica Parker Named 2026 Carol Burnett Award Honoree Photo
Sarah Jessica Parker Named 2026 Carol Burnett Award Honoree
by Josh Sharpe - Nov 13, 2025

Broadway alum Sarah Jessica Parker has been named the 2026 Carol Burnett Award honoree, recognizing her contributions to the television industry both in front of and behind the camera.
Cast Set For BOYS IN THE BUFF at the Golden Goose Theatre Photo
Cast Set For BOYS IN THE BUFF at the Golden Goose Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Nov 13, 2025

Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Adam Norton, Liam Bradbury, Max Rizzo and Tish Weinman will be performing in the musical comedy BOYS IN THE BUFF. Performances run Weds 10th Dec - Sat 10th Jan at the Golden Goose Theatre.
Full Cast Set For The World Premiere Of HIGH NOON Photo
Full Cast Set For The World Premiere Of HIGH NOON
by Stephi Wild - Nov 7, 2025

Joining Emmy and Tony Award-winner Billy Crudup and Olivier Award-winner Denise Gough are Billy Howle, Rosa Salazar, Simon Chandler, James Doherty, Misha Handley, Joshua Hill, Jonah Russell, Rebecca Lee and Tim Steed.
David Tennant, Caissie Levy, and Juliet Stevenson Lead New Season of Streaming Releas Photo
David Tennant, Caissie Levy, and Juliet Stevenson Lead New Season of Streaming Releases on National Theatre at Home
by Stephi Wild - Nov 7, 2025

This Winter, National Theatre at Home will welcome a trio of powerful new titles for streaming worldwide — from a West End revival starring David Tennant, to an award-winning musical that redefined modern theatre, and more.
West End Theatres to Dim Their Lights for Prunella Scales Photo
West End Theatres to Dim Their Lights for Prunella Scales
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 28, 2025

West End theatres will dim their lights in remembrance of beloved British stage and screen actress Prunella Scales, who has died aged 93. Learn more about Scales here.
Tilda Swinton Will Lead MAN TO MAN in London and New York Photo
Tilda Swinton Will Lead MAN TO MAN in London and New York
by Stephi Wild - Oct 28, 2025

Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton will return to the stage for the first time in more than three decades, reprising her 1988 performance in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man in London, ahead of a run in New York.
Full Cast Set For WHEN WE ARE MARRIED At Donmar Warehouse Photo
Full Cast Set For WHEN WE ARE MARRIED At Donmar Warehouse
by Stephi Wild - Oct 24, 2025

Artistic Director Tim Sheader and Executive Director Henny Finch has announced the full cast for Sheader’s revival of When We Are Married by J.B. Priestley, which will open at the Donmar Warehouse,
Shakespeare's Globe Reveals Lineup of Events and Collaborations for the Winter Season Photo
Shakespeare's Globe Reveals Lineup of Events and Collaborations for the Winter Season
by Stephi Wild - Oct 21, 2025

Shakespeare’s Globe has announced additional events running alongside the October – April Season, kicking off next month. Learn more about the upcoming events here!
What Is Absurdist Theatre? Inside the Movement that Changed Modern Drama Photo
What Is Absurdist Theatre? Inside the Movement that Changed Modern Drama
by Sidney Paterra - Oct 18, 2025

This fall, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is once again drawing audiences to Broadway, with its enigmatic blend of humor, hopelessness, and haunting stillness. It’s a timely reminder of how profoundly absurdist theatre reshaped the modern stage—inviting audiences to laugh at the meaningless, search for significance in repetition, and confront the unsettling question at the heart of human existence: Why are we here at all?
Aya Cash, Rachael Stirling & Elliot Levey Join John Lithgow in GIANT on Broadway Photo
Aya Cash, Rachael Stirling & Elliot Levey Join John Lithgow in GIANT on Broadway
by Nicole Rosky - Oct 15, 2025

John Lithgow leads an exciting cast, including Aya Cash, in GIANT on Broadway, starting March 11, 2026. Get your tickets now!
Simbi Akande and Nadim Naaman Will Lead MY FAIR LADY at the Mill at Sonning Photo
Simbi Akande and Nadim Naaman Will Lead MY FAIR LADY at the Mill at Sonning
by Stephi Wild - Oct 15, 2025

West End stars Simbi Akande and Nadim Naaman will play Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins in Lerner and Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY at the Mill at Sonning, directed by Joseph Pitcher.
Video: THE LADY FROM THE SEA Trailer at the Bridge Theatre Photo
Video: THE LADY FROM THE SEA Trailer at the Bridge Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Oct 13, 2025

London Theatre Company has released a trailer for The Lady from the Sea, written and directed by Simon Stone after Henrik Ibsen. The production, which is in collaboration with Wouter van Ransbeek, is now playing at the Bridge Theatre.
The History of WAITING FOR GODOT and Its Lasting Impact on Modern Theatre Photo
The History of WAITING FOR GODOT and Its Lasting Impact on Modern Theatre
by Sidney Paterra - Oct 12, 2025

Broadway audiences return to Beckett’s barren lane as Waiting for Godot arrives at the Hudson Theatre, starring Keanu Reeves (in his Broadway debut) as Estragon and longtime collaborator Alex Winter as Vladimir. Let's unpack the play’s history, its evolving meanings, and its stubbornly persistent legacy...
Interview: Dietrich Smith on AMERIKA OR, THE MAN WHO DISAPPEARED Photo
Interview: Dietrich Smith on AMERIKA OR, THE MAN WHO DISAPPEARED
by Shari Barrett - Oct 12, 2025

I decided to speak with Dietrich Smith, adaptor and director of Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared, about his journey to present it as well as his interest in Franz Kafka’s story.
Nigel Havers Announces New UK Tour for Spring and Autumn 2026 Photo
Nigel Havers Announces New UK Tour for Spring and Autumn 2026
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 9, 2025

Beloved British actor Nigel Havers will embark on a new UK tour in Spring and Autumn 2026, following the success of his first nationwide outing. The acclaimed star of Chariots of Fire, Downton Abbey, and Private Lives promises audiences an evening filled with laughter, charm, and behind-the-scenes stories from his five-decade career in film, television, and theatre.
More News

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many shows has Harold Pinter written?

Harold Pinter has written 22 shows including The Pinter Plays (Playwright), Play/ The Lover (Playwright), The New Pinter Plays (Playwright), The Birthday Party (Playwright), Tea Party/ The Basement (Playwright), The Local Stigmatic (Playwright), Landscape/ Silence (Playwright), Old Times (Playwright), The Homecoming (Playwright), No Man's Land (Playwright), The Hothouse (Playwright), Old Times (Playwright), Other Places (Playwright), The Birthday Party (Playwright), Mountain Language (Playwright), Moonlight (Playwright), Ashes to Ashes (Playwright), Betrayal (Playwright), The Caretaker (Playwright), Celebration and The Room (Playwright), The Homecoming (Playwright), The Collection & A Kind of Alaska: Two Plays by Harold Pinter (Playwright).

What awards has Harold Pinter been nominated for?

Outstanding Revival (The Lortels) for The Collection & A Kind of Alaska, Lebedev Special Award (Evening Standard Awards), Outstanding Lifetime Achievement (The Lortels), The Society's Special Award (Olivier Awards), Best Revival of a Play or Comedy (Olivier Awards) for No Man's Land, Director of the Year (Olivier Awards) for Quartermaine's Terms, Best Foreign Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for Betrayal, Play of the Year (Olivier Awards) for Betrayal, Best New Foreign Play (Drama Desk Awards) for No Man's Land, Best Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for No Man's Land, Best Foreign Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for Old Times, Best Play (Tony Awards) for Old Times, Best Direction of a Play (Tony Awards) for The Man in the Glass Booth, Best Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for The Homecoming, Best Play (Tony Awards) for The Homecoming, Best Play (Tony Awards) for The Caretaker and Best Play (Evening Standard Awards) for The Caretaker.

What awards has Harold Pinter won?

Harold Pinter has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career. These include the Lebedev Special Award from the Evening Standard Awards, the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award from The Lortels, and The Society's Special Award from the Olivier Awards. He won Best Foreign Play at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Betrayal, as well as Play of the Year at the Olivier Awards for Betrayal. Additionally, he received Best Play at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards and the Tony Awards for The Homecoming. He also earned Best Play at the Evening Standard Awards for The Caretaker.

Get Harold Pinter Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos