– A Night Out – By Harold Pinter – World Premiere – March 1, 1960 – BBC Transcription Service – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
The arrival of Harold Pinter on the Theatrical scene in the late 1950s caused a stir, a sensation and a harbinger of things to come for the decade ahead. As with just about everything in the 1960s, Pinter represented the great change society was in the midst undertaking; from Music to Art to Film to Writing.
It was not easily welcomed change – Harold Pinter’s debut play in 1958, The Birthday Party, was so savagely criticized that it had to close in less than a week. Two years later, his second play The Caretaker was hailed as a triumph, largely by the same critics who so badly trashed his earlier work.
Pinter’s art has been both revered and reviled through the years. But in the 60s, it was a revolution. Labeled by critics as one of the “Angry Young Men“, Pinter’s work went for the jugular, laying open the hypocrisies of society, challenging institutions, exposing those corruptions of complacency and genteel behavior. He bent more than a few noses out of shape, but it was his keen eye and well-honed craft which made those uncomfortable glimpses of human nature bearable, if not intentionally uncomfortable and ultimately enlightening.
His first play for Radio, written in 1959 and produced here for the first time on March 1, 1960, is one which has fallen into neglect – it’s hardly ever performed today, but it represents a significant step in the larger picture of Pinter’s work.
A month later it was produced for Television, but A Night Out remains a radio play – in a medium where words and sounds carry all the weight, and their meaning not interpreted by shifts of light.
If you are familiar with the work of Harold Pinter, you may not be all that familiar with this early piece. Although it has appeared in compilations of early works, I don’t believe this performance has surfaced in recent years.
If you aren’t familiar with the work of Harold Pinter, but are curious to know more about the 60s than the broad strokes, check this one out. It’s an hour and a roller-coaster ride, and can be infuriating in places – but it represents the time, painfully well.
Buckle up and press Play.
Past Daily is trudging along and we’re always looking for your help. We don’t run ads so we need contributors to keep us up and running. Costs even more now than it did this time last year. But we’re still offering you the best of what’s in the archive – yes, this is all from our Collection (except the sessions and concerts – gotta give credit where credit is due – BBC 6 Music and Radio X in London and RNE In Madrid are essential sources of finding new music) but everything is the result of yours truly digging into boxes, climbing over shelves, falling into dumpsters. It’s history, it’s important and it’s yours if you want it. All you have to do, if you’re up for it, is subscribe via Patreon (that little box at the bottom of this post) – click on it and you’ll be taken to their site where you can subscribe to Past Daily, let them know how much you want to donate – or check us out for free, test drive our site as it were and decide to become part of the Past Daily experience. Simple, painless and we’ll love you for it. Do it if you can and you’ll be able to download your own copy of all our posts and new ones as they appear. Kind of cool, don’t you think? But you have to become a Patron in order to do it. Think about it – no pressure – honest – really . . no pressure. But there’s this landlord . . . .
Harold Pinter – A Night Out – 1960 – Past Daily Evening Gallimaufry
– A Night Out – By Harold Pinter – World Premiere – March 1, 1960 – BBC Transcription Service – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
The arrival of Harold Pinter on the Theatrical scene in the late 1950s caused a stir, a sensation and a harbinger of things to come for the decade ahead. As with just about everything in the 1960s, Pinter represented the great change society was in the midst undertaking; from Music to Art to Film to Writing.
It was not easily welcomed change – Harold Pinter’s debut play in 1958, The Birthday Party, was so savagely criticized that it had to close in less than a week. Two years later, his second play The Caretaker was hailed as a triumph, largely by the same critics who so badly trashed his earlier work.
Pinter’s art has been both revered and reviled through the years. But in the 60s, it was a revolution. Labeled by critics as one of the “Angry Young Men“, Pinter’s work went for the jugular, laying open the hypocrisies of society, challenging institutions, exposing those corruptions of complacency and genteel behavior. He bent more than a few noses out of shape, but it was his keen eye and well-honed craft which made those uncomfortable glimpses of human nature bearable, if not intentionally uncomfortable and ultimately enlightening.
His first play for Radio, written in 1959 and produced here for the first time on March 1, 1960, is one which has fallen into neglect – it’s hardly ever performed today, but it represents a significant step in the larger picture of Pinter’s work.
A month later it was produced for Television, but A Night Out remains a radio play – in a medium where words and sounds carry all the weight, and their meaning not interpreted by shifts of light.
If you are familiar with the work of Harold Pinter, you may not be all that familiar with this early piece. Although it has appeared in compilations of early works, I don’t believe this performance has surfaced in recent years.
If you aren’t familiar with the work of Harold Pinter, but are curious to know more about the 60s than the broad strokes, check this one out. It’s an hour and a roller-coaster ride, and can be infuriating in places – but it represents the time, painfully well.
Buckle up and press Play.
Past Daily is trudging along and we’re always looking for your help. We don’t run ads so we need contributors to keep us up and running. Costs even more now than it did this time last year. But we’re still offering you the best of what’s in the archive – yes, this is all from our Collection (except the sessions and concerts – gotta give credit where credit is due – BBC 6 Music and Radio X in London and RNE In Madrid are essential sources of finding new music) but everything is the result of yours truly digging into boxes, climbing over shelves, falling into dumpsters. It’s history, it’s important and it’s yours if you want it. All you have to do, if you’re up for it, is subscribe via Patreon (that little box at the bottom of this post) – click on it and you’ll be taken to their site where you can subscribe to Past Daily, let them know how much you want to donate – or check us out for free, test drive our site as it were and decide to become part of the Past Daily experience. Simple, painless and we’ll love you for it. Do it if you can and you’ll be able to download your own copy of all our posts and new ones as they appear. Kind of cool, don’t you think? But you have to become a Patron in order to do it. Think about it – no pressure – honest – really . . no pressure. But there’s this landlord . . . .
Share this:
Like this:
Related
Recent Posts
Little Simz – Liverpool – 2019 – Past Daily Lunchroom
April 15, 1995 – Tokyo: ‘Something Terrible Was Supposed To Happen Today’
April 15,1990 – A Kid Named Ryan – The Subject Was AIDS
The Blue Nile – Manchester – 1990 – Past Daily Night Session
April 14, 1980 – Tehran Hostage Drama: Day 163 – Carter Approval Rating Plummets – Olympic Games To Go On.