THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Written by Harold Pinter
Directed by David Reid
Ian McKellen in the role of Stanley Webber
ADC Theatre, Cambridge
24 January 1961 - 28 January 1961
Words from Ian McKellen
The original production of Pinter's second play had not been well received, so perhaps our version two years later helped in establishing its popularity. Its structure is the traditional well-made play with two intervals. The characters are ordinary people who speak with Pinter's voice with an accent that perhaps inspired the Monty Python clowns. It was a joy to perform and the double-act of Tony Arlidge and Hugh Walters as Goldberg and McCann was horribly sinister. Nothing seemed obscure. — Ian McKellen, December 2006