Prep Work for The Homecoming
Harold Pinter's The Homecoming is one of his best works, having won Tony Awards and various other awards in its day. It is considered an absurdist play. The play deals with the theme of power, and the ironic title is as much Ruth's as it is Teddy's. Follow her as the central character in the play, although the males talk a lot more. What's more normal than sharing with your family?
Pinter said of the play: "The Homecoming changed my life. Before the play, I thought words were just vessels of meaning; after it, I saw them as weapons of defense. Before, I thought theatre was about the spoken; after, I understood the eloquence of the unspoken. The position of a chair, the length of a pause, the choice of a gesture, I realized, could convey volumes"
The play The Homecoming takes place in London's North End. The neighborhoods of Islington and Highgate. While not completely about North London, here's a 1960 London Landmark Documentary. Very cheesy.
A bit of information about London's East End.
East End 1900's - 1930's
East End 1940's - 1970's
Swinging London & Fashion:
Peacock Revolution, 1960's
Swinging London
Look At Life in Swinging London, 1960's
The 1950's (Teddy Boys)
The British Invasion: 1960s' Bands
The Beatles (a Beatles Commercial)
The Kinks
The Animals
The Yardbirds
The Small Faces
Pink Floyd (on American Bandstand--long may you be remembered, RIP, Dick Clark)
Want to know more about British history? Check this website.
Story idea: Set your story, poem, play, etc. in London. Choose a decade and research what life was like then. Or set your work in London's East End or during the swinging 60's (the Mod era).
Pinter said of the play: "The Homecoming changed my life. Before the play, I thought words were just vessels of meaning; after it, I saw them as weapons of defense. Before, I thought theatre was about the spoken; after, I understood the eloquence of the unspoken. The position of a chair, the length of a pause, the choice of a gesture, I realized, could convey volumes"
The play The Homecoming takes place in London's North End. The neighborhoods of Islington and Highgate. While not completely about North London, here's a 1960 London Landmark Documentary. Very cheesy.
A bit of information about London's East End.
East End 1900's - 1930's
East End 1940's - 1970's
Swinging London & Fashion:
Peacock Revolution, 1960's
Swinging London
Look At Life in Swinging London, 1960's
The 1950's (Teddy Boys)
The British Invasion: 1960s' Bands
The Beatles (a Beatles Commercial)
The Kinks
The Animals
The Yardbirds
The Small Faces
Pink Floyd (on American Bandstand--long may you be remembered, RIP, Dick Clark)
Want to know more about British history? Check this website.
Story idea: Set your story, poem, play, etc. in London. Choose a decade and research what life was like then. Or set your work in London's East End or during the swinging 60's (the Mod era).
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