The Hothouse

"The Hothouse" is a play written by Harold Pinter between two of his best-known early plays, "The Birthday Party" and "The Caretaker". After writing "The Hothouse" in the winter of 1958, Pinter shelved the play following the initial commercial failure of "The Birthday Party"; it was first produced (directed by Pinter) and published in 1980.

The play is set in a dubious institution; referred to throughout the play as both a 'rest home' and a 'sanitorium', wherein the residents (or 'patients') are referred to by number, rather than by name. The institution's bombastic leader, Roote, has his professionalism and even his sanity constantly undermined by his two lackey underlings, the quiet and efficient Gibbs and the sleazy and alcoholic Lush. Roote's calculating and shrewd mistress, Miss Cutts, adds to the mayhem. After the supposed murder of one patient and the rape and resulting pregnancy of another, Roote, Gibbs and Lush set out to find the culprit(s), only to discover a disturbing secret.

List of Characters

*Roote, "in his fifties"
*Gibbs, "in his thirties"
*Lush, "in his thirties"
*Miss Cutts, "in her thirties"
*Lamb, "in his twenties"
*Tubb, "fifty"
*Lobb, "fifty"

Interpretations

The play is often interpreted as a searing indictment of institutionalised bureaucracy. The dark mix of comedy and horror in "The Hothouse" means that the play is often seen as Pinter's most overtly comic piece of writing, yet the manner in which the play finds black, absurdist humour within the corridors of power hints towards the more blatant political direction of some of the playwright's later writings, such as "One for the Road" and "Mountain Language".

Productions

A revival of "The Hothouse", directed by Ian Rickson, with a cast including Stephen Moore (Roote), Lia Williams (Miss Cutts), and Henry Woolf (Tubb), was staged in the Lyttelton at the Royal National Theatre, London, from 11 July to 27 October 2007. Stage review [http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/17468/the-hothouse] . [http://www.nt-online.org/hothouse "The Hothouse"] , "Royal National Theatre", accessed 15 June 2007.]

Notes