41 Harold Pinter Quotes for You to Enjoy

Harold Pinter

English Dramatist

Born: Oct 10, 1930

About Been Me Think World You

Related authors: Aphra Behn Christopher Marlowe John Ciardi John Heywood Thomas Dekker Thomas Holcroft Tom Stoppard William Shakespeare

Political theatre presents an entirely different set of problems. Sermonising has to be avoided at all cost. Objectivity is essential. The characters must be allowed to breathe their own air. The author cannot confine and constrict them to satisfy his own taste or disposition or prejudice. Harold Pinter

Theatre Political Problems Own Disposition Air Characters Must Cost Entirely Objectivity Allowed His Author Taste Essential Confine Different Cannot Them Breathe Prejudice Avoided Satisfy Set Presents

I mean, don't forget the earth's about five thousand million years old, at least. Who can afford to live in the past? Harold Pinter

Moving On Old Past Live Earth Thousand About Least Years Five Afford Forget In The Past Mean Who Million Million Years

I wrote 'The Room', 'The Birthday Party', and 'The Dumb Waiter' in 1957, I was acting all the time in a repertory company, doing all kinds of jobs, traveling to Bournemouth and Torquay and Birmingham. Harold Pinter

Time Birthday Party Birmingham Birthday Party Jobs Kinds Wrote Doing Waiter Dumb Repertory Room Acting Company Traveling

I was told that, when 'Betrayal' was being produced by one of the provincial companies in England, the two actors playing those roles actually went into a pub one day and played that scene as if it were really happening to them. The people around them became very uncomfortable. Harold Pinter

Day People Those One Day Betrayal Scene Uncomfortable Became Around Were Provincial Very Roles Being Happening Pub Them Produced Really England Companies Actor Actually Played Playing Two

I'm well aware that I have been described in some quarters as being 'enigmatic, taciturn, prickly, explosive and forbidding'. Well, I have my moods like anyone else; I won't deny it. Harold Pinter

Else Moods Some Taciturn Like Forbidding Well Quarters Been Deny Being Anyone Anyone Else Explosive Aware Enigmatic

I think it is the responsibility of a citizen of any country to say what he thinks. Harold Pinter

Citizen Responsibility Country Think Say He Any Thinks

I left school at sixteen - I was fed up and restless. The only thing that interested me at school was English language and literature, but I didn't have Latin, and so couldn't go on to university. So I went to a few drama schools, not studying seriously; I was mostly in love at the time and tied up with that. Harold Pinter

Love Time Me School Language Seriously Few Drama Latin Restless Only Fed Fed Up Studying Schools Mostly Tied Go Left Up Sixteen The Only Thing Literature Interested English English Language Thing University

One's life has many compartments. Harold Pinter

Life Many

My father was a tailor. He worked from seven o'clock in the morning until seven at night. At least when he got home, my mother always cooked him a very good dinner. Lots of potatoes, I remember; he used to knock them down like a dose of salts. He needed it, after a 12-hour day. Harold Pinter

Good Day Home Morning Remember Mother Father Dinner Down Seven Potatoes Tailor He Knock Like Until Him Always Got Least Lots Very After Dose Them Worked Used Cooked Night Needed

The only theatre I ever saw was Shakespeare. Harold Pinter

Theatre Saw Shakespeare Only Ever

A short piece of work means as much to me as a long piece of work. Harold Pinter

Work Me Long Piece Short Much Means

There's a tradition in British intellectual life of mocking any non-political force that gets involved in politics, especially within the sphere of the arts and the theatre. Harold Pinter

Life Politics Theatre Sphere Involved Force Non-Political Within Tradition Intellectual Intellectual Life Mocking Gets Any Arts British

One is and is not in the centre of the maelstrom of it all. Harold Pinter

Maelstrom Centre

Analysis I take to be a scientific procedure. What I do is creative. It doesn't spring from the same part of the mind. Harold Pinter

Creative Mind Spring Analysis Take Part Scientific Same Procedure

I used to get up at five in the morning and play cricket. Harold Pinter

Morning Cricket Up Five Get Used Play

One should also remember that the U.S. is the biggest exporter of torture weapons in the world, though the U.K. is not far behind in the league table. We never stopped, even under Robin Cook's supposedly ethical foreign policy. Harold Pinter

World Remember Though Torture Weapons Table Never League Supposedly Also Policy Robin Foreign Foreign Policy Behind Stopped Biggest Far Ethical Should Cook Exporter Even

All that happens is that the destruction of human beings - unless they're Americans - is called collateral damage. Harold Pinter

Destruction Unless Collateral American Human Human Beings Happens Beings Damage

I also found being called Sir rather silly. Harold Pinter

Silly Rather Also Sir Being Found

I think that NATO is itself a war criminal. Harold Pinter

War NATO Think Criminal Itself

Most of the press is in league with government, or with the status quo. Harold Pinter

Government Press Status Status Quo League Most Quo

The Room I wrote in 1957, and I was really gratified to find that it stood up. I didn't have to change a word. Harold Pinter

Change Word Find Wrote Up Stood Room Really Gratified

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