No Man's Land - Duke of York's Theatre

SYNOPSIS

No Man's Land

Nobel Prize laureate Harold Pinter wrote No Man's Land in 1974. Having already featured in the West End on several previous occasions, this surreal and haunting play now returns to the London stage in September 2008 at the Duke of York's Theatre. The production, directed by Rupert Goold, is a wholly character-driven creation that relies upon the intricate and witty dialogue of its four protagonists, and the chemistry that exists between them and the situation that they find themselves in.

Featuring Michael Gambon, David Bradley, David Walliams (in his West End debut) and Nick Dunning, No Man's Land is an intriguing drama that will delight and frustrate as only Harold Pinter knows how. You are in no man’s land. Which never moves, which never changes, which never grows older, but which remains forever, icy and silent.

Harold Pinter's No Man's Land

No Man's Land is the tale of two ageing writers. Hirst (played by Michael Gambon) is a writer whose work has met with success. As a character however he is very much a recluse and confides in his enslavement to alcohol. Spooner (played by David Bradley) is a failed writer, if indeed he can be classified as a writer at all! The two meet on Hampstead Heath, returning to Hirst's home for an evening of alcohol drenched banter and ever-desperate power games against a background of more sinister drama overseen by Hirst's two henchmen, Briggs (played by Nick Dunning) and Foster (played by David Walliams).

Verbal conflict is at the heart of this piece of theatre, which is played out rather like a game of chess. Briggs and Foster attempt to fend off Spooner's ambitions of gaining a foothold in Hirst's life and supplanting them, while Hirst is intent on proving his higher intellect…leading himself and the whole cast into the ambiguity of No Man's Land at the end of the play. Is it a point proved? Is it one manoeuvre too far? Or is it something more sinister?

Harold Pinter

Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter is widely regarded as the flag bearer of British drama in the second half of the twentieth century. Born in 1930, Pinter has written numerous works for stage, TV and radio, developing a politically charged dramatic style to his work that has earned him much acclaim over the years. Typically Pinter's plays rely on characters and situations that are strong on conflict and emotions to drive his stories forward. In the mix too is much ambiguity, irony, menace, provocative imagery and even good comedy timing - traits that can be found in abundance in No Man's Land.

Rupert Goold

The 2008 revival of No Man's Land at The Duke of York's Theatre is directed by Rupert Goold. Goold's direction experience is first-class. He has won Olivier and Tony Awards for his works, including the direction of Patrick Stewart in The Tempest for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Stewart again in Macbeth in the West End and on Broadway. Harold Pinter may rest assured that No Man's Land is in good hands with Rupert Goold.