Born 10 October 1930 in East London, playwright, director, actor, poet and political activist.
He wrote his first play The Room while he was an actor in repertory, and completed The Dumb Waiter and The Birthday Party in the same year.
ince then he has produced a body of work for the stage, television and films which has given him an outstanding international reputation. He has also continued to work as an actor and director in the theatre, and maintains an active political life through his writings and journalism.
Among his many awards are: Shakespeare Prize (Hamburg); European Prize for Literature (Vienna); Pirandello Prize (Palermo); Honorary degrees from Universities in the UK, USA, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece and Ireland. In 2000 he was awarded The Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts; The Brianza Poetry Prize, Italy 2000; The S.T. Dupont Golden Pen Award 2001 for a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature; and The 'Premio Fiesole ai Maestri del Cinema', Italy, 2001.
In 1999 he was made a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature. He has received honorary degrees from fourteen universities.
haroldpinter.org – Harold Pinter's offical website contains exhaustive information on the author and his work
Photograph by Ivan Kyncl
"It was a one-way system easy enough to get into. The only trouble was that, once in, you couldn't get out."