Theatrical lecture Module

“PARTY TIME”

by Harold Pinter

“Party Time” was written by Harold Pinter in 1991 and the first time it was performed was in the Almeida Theatre, London.

The characters in this play are Terry, Gavin, Dusty, Melissa, Liz, Charlotte, Fred, Douglas and Jimmy. They are high class because all the information that the writer tells us through their conversations is typical of this class of people. One example is the conversation that Terry, Gavin, Dusty and Melissa have, in which they are talking about a club. The same characters tells us about the others, for example when Dusty tells Terry about Melissa: “But you do have a really wonderful figure. Honestly.” We know due to the dialogues that these people are worried about things that only high class people are, like the club, golf, boating and so on. Jimmy is a very confusing character because during the play some people ask for him and he appears at the end, talking alone about how he hears voices, noises but then they stop. He has dark in his mouth and he sucked it. It is a strange situation.

In Gavin’s flat there is a party. The characters talk about clubs, boating, physical appearance, things that only bother people of a high class. All the characters show a superficial vision of life. They do not worry about other problems or about other’s people problems. In the different scenes of the play they talk about how good a club is, about love and about material things. On many occasions, Jimmy’s brother, Dusty, asks for his brother, but no one answers him. I think these are the only little preoccupations that this kind of people have about others that are in a different economic, social or cultural situation, but certainly they do not worry.

As in other plays of Harold Pinter, the space is very small, (mainly a room). In this case the actions take place in the living room, where some characters are on side of it and another on another side. This play only has an act that is divided into many conversations. When a group of characters talk, they are illuminated, while the other group is in the dark, the light divides the stage into of little scenes (“The others sit in half-light, drinking”, “Lights up on Melissa, Dusty, Terry and Gavin”, “The room lights come up on Douglas, Fred, Liz and Charlotte.” ). Thanks to this, the writer achieves that can be amplified into more than one.

The characters talk about things that have happened. Not many actions take place. I think that the time of the play is the writer’s time. The action is very usual nowadays, people do not worry about the other people’s problems.

The writer uses a lot of pauses and silences. Harold Pinter uses these pauses to slow down the action. Also, he uses question tags: “I tell you, it’s got everything”, “Has it?”. This intensifies the meaning of what the characters say.

It is interesting to quote the importance of Jimmy, the character that does not act in the play, but appears at the end. I do not know if he is alive or dead, but he has an important role in the play. I think he represents the rest of the people that are in the world that have darkness, that is to say, they have not got so many things. People whom are high class do not worry about them, in the play no one knows anything about Jimmy, they are not worried about him, or in reality, about the rest of the people.

My opinion about this play of Harold Pinter is very good, because I think that people have to think on all the problems that people in general have. Certainly material things are not important, only people who are rich when every one is useful for the rest, and the rest are useful to him or her. People have to help other people and worry about their problems because life can change and if you do not help others you can not be helped when you need it. I think the writer transmits these emotions through Jimmy.