Do you think that Pinters playwrighting is an accurate representation of real life?
The notion that any drama is an accurate representation of real life is, let’s face it, a little comical. When in a show do you see a character who can’t think of the right thing to say and so remains silent, then later in private curses self for not thinking faster? No, characters are glib, witty, and focused. That’s true in both Pinter and Shakespeare. Real life doesn’t play itself out in defined beats and scenes. I’m not even sure that naturalism is always a good thing in theatre. All of the non-western theatre is quite artificial, and a good Kabuki show can be entertaining and inspiring as much as Pinter or Shakespeare, depending on your taste. And in western culture, we’ve seen the artificiality of musical comedy, absurdism, and the esoteric works of individual nonconformists like the Living Theatre, the Bread and Puppet Theatre, or whatever you’d call those narrative Antony Newley shows (“Stop the World…” and “Roar of the Greasepaint…”).
