Fans of Harold Pinter will want to check their calendars from July 22^nd to August 22^nd as the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre is set to roll out six of the master's works in a 4-week festival, performed by 17 actors in repertory at the Stephen Foster Memorial, on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.  Entitled "Hearing Noise in the Silence: A Celebration of the Life and Theatre of Harold Pinter," the festival will feature two full length dramas - The Hothouse and No Man's Land - as well as a pair of shorter works - The Dumb Waiter and Betrayal, and The Room and Celebration. The Nobel prize-winning playwright's project of confrontation, mystery, and The Other, manifested through the use of the "pregnant pause" and "language games" will be on view throughout the festival - where the scope of his work is presented - or coalesced into one, in the "Two By Pinter" afternoons or evenings. 

In addition to seeing some or all of the plays (weekend performances alternate, check their calendar at www.picttheatre.org), you can attend a free panel discussion on August 14^th at 12 Noon with Ann C. Hall, President of the international Harold Pinter Society, Andrew Paul, PICT Artistic Director, and Alan Stanford, actor/director/writer.  Mr. Paul, who will direct No Man's Land, takes a turn on stage in Celebration, under the guidance of Mr. Stanford, who will also direct Betrayal.  Mr. Stanford can lay claim to one-half a degree of separation from the author, having not only known him but directed Mr. Pinter's performance in The Collection.  How well did he take direction (pause), Alan (pause)?   

PICT has showcased the works of prominent playwrights biennially, starting with Samuel Beckett in 2006 and following with the oeuvre of John Millington Synge in 2008.  Not the marathon of the BeckettFest (all 19 plays) or the complete review of the Synge Cycle, the Pinter Celebration seeks to explore the immense variety of his work with the selected offerings. 

An all-star cast featuring Sam Tsoutsouvas (Broadway, Shakespeare Theatre Company), Rick McMillan (five-time Dora Award winner), Martin Giles (PICT veteran), Nike Doukas, Leo Marks, and Bernadette Quigley (stage, film, TV actress) will perform in multiple roles.  Mr. Giles' hand will be everywhere, acting in four plays and directing one (The Dumb Waiter). Ms. Doukas and Mr. Marks - a real-life married couple - will have several encounter weekends of sorts as they explore the dark edges of a relationship going backwards (literally) in Betrayal.  And Ms. Quigley will put the range of her multiple talents on display - low life to upscale - in The Room and Celebration, Pinter's first (1957) and last (1999) plays.    

Matthew Gray and Sheila McKenna will direct The Hothouse and The Room, respectively. 

An evening of poetry and prose, followed by a talk-back of the entire company, caps the festival at 7 PM on August 22^nd.

If dark humor, theater of the absurd, and menacing subtext (sounds like the workplace!) are your cup of tea, head out to PICT for what promises to be a thought-provoking and comic summer brew.