''Pinter's People'' is a compilation of revue sketches or short prose works 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 ...

, which was performed for four weeks from 30 January 2007, at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, starring

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian, actor and television presenter. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom '' Black Books'' (2000–2004), and for his regula ...

, Geraldine McNulty,

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, comedian, and television presenter. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Jam & Jerusale ...

, and

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV ...

. The show was assembled by Bailey and directed by Sean Foley. It included: *''Apart From That'' (first performed 2006) *''The Black and White'' (1959) *'' Last to Go'' (1959) *''The New World Order'' (1991) *''

Night Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...

'' (1969) *'' Precisely'' (1983) *''Press Conference'' (2002) *''Request Stop'' (1959) *''Special Offer'' (1959) *''Tess'' (2000) *''That's All (sketch), That's All'' (1959) *''That's Your Trouble'' (1959) *'' Trouble in the Works'' (1959) *'' Victoria Station'' (1982)

Critical response

Charles Spencer in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' described the show as "one of the most punishingly unfunny evenings I have ever endured in a theatre." In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

,'' Michael Billington commented, "Pinter’s people have been turned into lurching grotesques and the result does a grave disservice both to the writer and comic acting.""What the critics are saying about Bill Bailey and co's comedic take on the Nobel laureate's characters. It's not pretty" Benedict Nightingale in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote: "Last night I was sickened by some of the coarsest performances I have ever seen in a London playhouse", before going on to praise the second half of the show."But only in the second half does the cast calm down and let the audience listen, observe, ponder … Victoria Station comes off fine — and Night pretty well too. " ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' was more favourable however, mentioning "the great pleasures of the evening" and praised the performers."Comedian Bill Bailey's brainchild unites a starry cast and 47 years of Pinter sketches to touching, at times hilarious, effect" Pinter himself was quick to defend the cast and the show, saying "I'm all for it. I admire these people in Pinter's People. I really think they're a great bunch - they're so robust and energetic. I think they were terrific."

References

Plays by Harold Pinter 2007 plays {{2000s-play-stub