THE DUMB WAITER

Author: Harold Pinter

Title: The Dumb Waiter

Editorial:

Date of publication: 1960

Place of publication: first it was presented at the Hampstead Theatre Club on January, later it

was presented at the Royal Theatre in March

Dramaties personae:  

The main characters of this play are: Ben and Gus. At first both characters seem to

be killers.

Ben: he is a man who has authority over Gus. He is a timid person. And he is older than Gus.

Gus: he is a younger man than Ben, for this reason he is treated by Ben as a small brother.

Wilson: is a secondary character who has the mission to warn Ben and Gus of the arrival of their

victim. He is their boss.

Plot:

Ben and Gus, two killers, are in a basement room, and they are waiting for instructions for

their next work. While they wait, they discuss, they maintain repetitive conversations, they speak

about the people who have contracted... Gus considers if he really wants to work in that. Later

they are warned that their victim has arrived. But finally Ben kills Gus because he says that Gus

puts their organization in danger.

Space, time and other aspects:

The space in which the play is developed is an underground room, with two beds, a kitchen, the

bathroom, a lavatory etc.

The time in which the play is developed, is not named by the author.

"The Dumb Waiter" play has been written in a colloquial language, with repetitions in the

conversations between Ben and Gus. It is necessary to emphasize that are a lot of pauses and

silences. The communication is bad.

Personal opinion:

In my opinion it is an entertaining play. It shows us the violence and the social tension of that

epoch. I think that it is an intriguing play (I have been in tension during all the play) due to the fact

that it has a surprising final which readers don’t expect.