The play, Harold Pinter’s first full-length work and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005, hails from a period when the aftermath of World War II was still markedly felt and the ease with which life could edge toward disaster was a prevailing sentiment. This somber atmosphere gave rise to the “theatre of the absurd,” a movement Pinter firmly positioned within the British art scene, as highlighted by Teatro do Bairro in its presentation dossier of the play.
“Festa de Aniversário” is set in a seaside boarding house where a couple tends to Stanley, the sole guest. On his birthday, the arrival of two visitors disturbs the existing balance, triggering “seemingly innocent games” that take on “frightening repercussions.” In other terms, as critic Michael Billington notes, it is a “mundane living room that opens up to the horrors of contemporary history.”
Stanley, in his attempt to evade his past, finds himself unable to sidestep confrontation with the newcomers, gradually losing his character and willpower, transformed by anxiety and fear.
The narrative unfolds through Pinter’s concise dialogues, which, though seemingly trivial and disjointed, are laden with hesitations and silences that speak volumes and allow for “multiple shades of meaning.”
Pinter’s dramaturgy is characterized by seemingly ordinary characters and scenarios that are subverted by unexpected elements, such as the arrival of a stranger, often uncovering feelings of fear and loneliness, heightening tension and insecurity, and reaching unexpected conclusions.
“It is a strange moment, the moment of creating characters that, until that instant, did not exist,” stated Harold Pinter in his speech in Stockholm upon receiving the Nobel Prize in 2005. “What follows is irregular, uncertain, even hallucinatory, though at times it can be an unstoppable avalanche.”
Nonetheless, he continued, if “language in art remains a highly ambiguous transaction, a quicksand, a springboard, a frozen pond that might give way, […] the quest for truth must never cease, it cannot be delayed.”
“One must at all costs avoid moralizing,” insisted the playwright in reference to the “set of problems” raised by the political nature of theatre.
“Objectivity is essential. Characters must have the freedom to breathe their own air; the author cannot confine or restrict them to satisfy their own taste, disposition, or prejudice. He must be prepared to approach them from various angles, through a full and uninhibited range of perspectives, sometimes surprising them, but granting them the freedom to follow their chosen path,” he stated.
In that year of 2005, still marked by the invasion of Iraq justified by the unproven existence of weapons of mass destruction, Pinter did not hesitate to draw a contrast: “Political language, as used by politicians, does not venture into this territory […]. The truth is something entirely different,” he stated, adding that truth does not pertain to processes of conquest or power retention but rather, for example, “how the United States perceives its role in the world and how it chooses to embody it.”
“In my play ‘Festa de Aniversário,’ […] I allow a wide array of options to operate in a dense forest of possibilities before finally focusing on an act of subjugation,” the playwright articulated.
Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was raised in London’s East End. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but left after two semesters. He then joined repertory companies, adopting the stage name David Baron. For his writing, he maintained Harold Pinter.
His initial short plays, “The Room” and “The Dumb Waiter,” dated back to 1956 and established the tone of his “Comedy of Menace,” blending seemingly comedic, sometimes ridiculous scenarios with a sensation of impending danger—a tragedy composed of comedic elements. This is exemplified in “Festa de Aniversário.”
At the time, the play was perceived as an “oddity” by British audiences, but it immediately gained support from critic Harold Hobson of The Times, who wrote about its premiere: “Theatrically, ‘Festa de Aniversário’ is captivating. It is witty. The characters are fascinating. The plot, comprising all sorts of verbal arabesques and explorations of memory and imagination, flows as from a tap, and is of the highest quality. The entire play possesses that deliciously terrifying, unreachable, and hair-raising atmosphere that the greatest stories in the world also have. Pinter has understood one of the most basic facts of human existence: we live on the brink of disaster.”
“Festa de Aniversário” premiered in Portugal in 1967, directed by Artur Ramos, who collaborated on the translation with Jaime Salazar Sampaio. This translation has been staged by other companies, such as Artistas Unidos in 2012, and is published by Relógio d’Água in the first of two volumes dedicated to Harold Pinter’s theatre.
The Teatro do Bairro production features performances by Adriano Luz, Ana Nave, Cláudio da Silva, Graciano Dias, João Barbosa, and Vera Moura.
“Festa de Aniversário” will be staged from March 19 to April 20, running from Wednesday to Sunday, with English-subtitled sessions on Thursdays.
