''The Basement'' is a television play (later a stage play) by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

. It was written first as a screenplay for a film, then revised for television and broadcast on 20 February 1967.

Origin: "The Compartment"

''The Basement'' is based on "The Compartment" (1965), an unpublished 27-page screenplay (circulated only in typescript) that Pinter wrote in 1963–65 "for a film never made, planned as part of a triple-bill, ''Project I'' promoted by Grove Press, New York, with

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's ''

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Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's '' The Hard-Boiled Egg''" (Baker and Ross 112). Of the three works planned for this trilogy of films, "only ''Film'' would be produced, being released in 1965" (112). According to Pinter's official authorised biographer Michael Billington, also cited by Baker and Ross (112), "Pinter's contribution ''The Compartment'' lay dormant until he rewrote it for television as ''The Basement''" (Billington 191).

Setting

The "''exterior''" and ''"interior''" of "''a basement flat''" in various seasons and at various times of day and night (''Two Plays and a Film Script'' 91–112).

Synopsis

Two men, (Tim) Law and (Charles) Stott, compete for possession of and dominance over a "basement flat" and their at-times mutual girlfriend, Jane. During the course of the play, they reverse roles with relation to each other, to the ownership or possession of the flat, and to their relationship with or possession of Jane. The changing furnishings of the room reflect their changing roles and who is in power over whom at various points in time. At first Jane appears to be submissive in relation to the men; but as the action develops, at times she appears to dominate each man and both of them. The character relationships between Stott and Law and the basic plot resemble Pinter's prose fiction works "Kullus" and "The Examination".

Characters

*Law, "''a man''" *Stott, "''a man''" *Jane, "''a girl''"

Productions

Television première

First transmitted on 20 February 1967,See ''The Basement'', in ''Plays: Three'' 150 and in ''Three Plays and a Filmscript'' 91; and the same production details listed i
"The Basement – Premiere"
(in "Production 1970"). ''HaroldPinter.org''. Harold Pinter, 2000– 008

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. 23 March 2009. (The ''HaroldPinter.org'' Webpage also reprints a review of the 1970 Duchess Theatre stage production, entitled "Pinter Propriety", by Irving Wardle, first published in the '' Times'', on 18 September 1970.) it formed part of BBC 2's '' Theatre 625'' series. ;Director: * Charles Jarrott ;Cast: * Derek Godfrey, Law *

, Stott * Kika Markham, Jane

Stage première: Eastside Playhouse, New York, October 1968

''The Basement'' was first produced on stage at the Eastside Playhouse, in New York City, in October 1968, as part of a double bill with Pinter's play '' Tea Party'', directed by James Hammerstein. ;Cast: *Ted van Griethuysen, Law *James Ray Jane, Stott *Margo Ann Berdeshevsky, Jane ;Stage personnel: *Ed Wittstein, Scenery * Neil Peter Jampolis, Lighting *Deidre Cartier, Costumes''The Basement'' (in double bill with ''Tea Party'')
''HaroldPinter.org''. Harold Pinter, 2000– 008

. 23 March 2009.

Duchess Theatre, London, September 1970

Hammerstein also directed another stage production at the Duchess Theatre, in London, on 17 September 1970 (''The Basement'', ''HaroldPinter.org'') with a new cast. ;Cast: * Donald Pleasence, Law * Barry Foster, Stott * Stephanie Beacham, Jane

Notes

Works cited

Baker, William, and John C. Ross, comps. ''Harold Pinter: A Bibliographical History''. London:

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

(BL); New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press (OKP), 2005. (BL). (OKP). Billington, Michael. ''Harold Pinter''. 1996. London:

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

, 2007. Pinter, Harold. ''The Basement''. In ''Plays: Three''. London: Eyre Methuen, 1978. . –––. ''The Lover, Tea Party, The Basement: Two Plays and a Film Script''. New York: Grove Press, 1967. (An Evergreen Book E-432). –––. ''Tea Party and Other Plays''. London: Methuen, 1967. British first ed.; published 15 June 1967. (Baker and Ross 54–55).

External links

''The Basement''
at ''HaroldPinter.org'' – ''The Official Website of the International Playwright Harold Pinter'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Basement (Play) 1967 television plays Plays by Harold Pinter Films with screenplays by Harold Pinter