"Caretaker"
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t h e a t r e

In this tribute to Pinter on his seventieth birthday, a number of people from theatre, television, radio and the worlds of cricket and political commentary have come together to celebrate the writer and the man in specially written pieces for this book. Together, all these illuminate with affection and insight the work, the man behind the work and the appeal of both. Faber and Faber Limited, ©2000, ISBN 0-571-20661-1

This is Alan Bates's contribution to the book:

Pinter with Pleasence and Bates in rehearsal

"MY AGENT told me that I'd been offered a play at the Arts Theatre which he couldn't make head nor tail of and the pay was £6 per week. He said I'd had a better offer from BBC Television: 'So there's nothing to discuss, is there?' I said I didn't understand the play either but that I'd had an instinctive reaction to its poetry and humanity and I would definitely be doing it. My agent attended the first night and was first round at my dressing room door. To his great credit he said, 'Never listen to me again.' The play was, of course, The Caretaker.
Harold's work as a writer has been acclaimed over and over again, quite rightly, but it is about his work as a director that I feel I can say something. He is the sort of director that one dreams about: his objectivity, his courtesy to everyone working with him, and his absolute clarity in his interpretation of other people's writing. I worked with him on plays by Simon Gray and Harold's delight in Simon's comedy, eloquence and great understanding of human behaviour was terrific.
Harold as a director inspires confidence and has an appreciation of what everyone else has to offer. With him it is a truly shared experience."