The Hothouse

Cast & Crew

Cast

Observations

1. On 31^st March 2011 at 7:52 p.m., Carl Halling noted:

   This production by Tim Williams received some glowing reviews in the local press, as well as a pretty good review in London Time Out by Kate Stratton, with Carl Hallingbeing singled out for what she described as “ a flawlessly accurate performance…lit by flashes of black humour”. She went on to write that “ In a series of deliciously clipped exchanges with his supercilious aide (Nigel Barrett), Halling picks at the comic underbelly of power and paranoia. The production falters whenever he leaves the stage, and even halling can’t camouflage the play’s over-explicitness – the verbal weapons are twice as deadly as the literal ones”.

2. On 1^st April 2011 at 2:25 p.m., Carl Halling noted:

   The Hothouse was written by Pinter between “The Birthday Party” (1957) and “The Caretaker” (1959“. The former received a critical drubbing when it was performed at the Lyric Studio, Hammersmith in 1958, and it allegedly closed after only a handful of performances. And yet, once it had done so, it received a rave review in the Sunday Times by drama critic Harold Hobson, who described Pinter as possessing “the most original, disturbing and arresting talent in theatrical London”. Yet, Pinter shelved ”The Hothouse“ for over twenty years, while going on to real success with ”The Caretaker". In 1979, he directed its first production at Hampstead Theatre, where it opened on 24 April 1980, moving to the Ambassador Theatre on 25 June 1980. Then in 1995, Pinter himself played Roote at the Minerva Theatre, in Chichester, in 1995, before it transferred to the Comedy Theatre.
   

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