The Dumb Waiter

Summary

Granada production for ITV of The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter.

Theatre play

The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter [more information]

Play synopsis

'Two hit-men, Ben and Gus, are waiting in a basement room for their assignment. As the play begins, Ben, the senior member of the team, is reading a newspaper, and Gus, the junior member, is tying his shoes. Gus asks Ben many questions as he gets ready for their job and tries to make tea. They argue over the semantics of "light the kettle" and "put on the kettle". Ben continues reading his paper for most of the time, occasionally reading excerpts of it to Gus. Ben gets increasingly animated, and Gus’s questions become more pointed, at times nearly nonsensical. In the back of the room is a dumbwaiter, which delivers occasional food orders. This is mysterious and both characters seem to be puzzled why these orders keep coming. At one point they send up some snack food that Gus had brought along. Ben has to explain to the people above via the dumbwaiter’s "speaking tube" that there is no food. This whole sequence is rather odd because the basement is clearly not outfitted for fulfilment of the orders. Gus leaves the room to get a drink of water in the bathroom, and the dumbwaiter’s speaking tube whistles (a sign that there is a person on the other end who wishes to communicate). Ben listens carefully—we gather from his replies that their victim has arrived and is on his way to the room. Ben shouts for Gus, who is still out of the room. The door that the target is supposed to enter from flies open, Ben rounds on it with his gun, and Gus enters, stripped of his jacket, waistcoat, tie and gun. There is a long silence as the two stare at each other before the curtain comes down (the implication is that Gus is the person that Ben has been employed to kill).' Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dumb_Waiter.

Production history

The world première was in the Kleines Haus in Frankfurt (performed under the title Der Stumme Diener) in February 1959. First performed in London in January 1960, as part of a double bill with Pinter’s first play The Room, at the Hampstead Theatre Club, directed by James Roose-Evans, with Nicholas Selby as Ben and George Tovey as Gus. The production transferred to the Royal Court in March 1960.

Date of transmission

Thursday 10 August 1961

Time

9.35-10.35pm

Series

Television Playhouse

Channel

ITV

Production company

Granada Television (1956-)

Credits

Director

Paul Almond

Playwright

Harold Pinter

Designer

Stanley Mills

Cast

Roddy McMillan	Gus
Kenneth J. Warren	Ben

Print sources

Title

Loose Grip on Pinter Play: TV Version Neither Funny nor Tense (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 11 August 1961, p. 11

Title

They’ve Got Him: Playwright Captured (Newspaper article)

Author/creator

Sally Cline (Author)

Reference

Daily Mirror, 10 August 1961, p. 14

Title

TV Times, 4 August 1961 (Magazine)

Linking notes

illustrated article, p. 12; listing, p. 29