The Basement is based on "The Compartment", an unpublished 27-page screenplay that Pinter wrote in 1963–65 "for a film never made, planned as part of a triple-bill, Project I promoted by Grove Press, New York, with Samuel Beckett's Film and Eugène Ionesco's The Hard-Boiled Egg". Of the three works planned for this trilogy of films, "only Film would be produced, being released in 1965". According to Pinter's official authorised biographer Michael Billington, also cited by Baker and Ross, "Pinter's contribution The Compartment lay dormant until he rewrote it for television as The Basement".
Setting
The "exterior" and "interior" of "a basement flat" in various seasons and at various times of day and night.
Synopsis
Two men, Law and Stott, compete for possession of and dominance over a "basement flat" and their at-times mutual girlfriend, Jane. During the course of the play, they reverse roles with relation to each other, to the ownership or possession of the flat, and to their relationship with or possession of Jane. The changing furnishings of the room reflect their changing roles and who is in power over whom at various points in time. At first Jane appears to be submissive in relation to the men; but as the action develops, at times she appears to dominate each man and both of them. The character relationships between Stott and Law and the basic plot resemble Pinter's prose fiction works "Kullus" and "The Examination".
Characters
Law, "a man"
Stott, "a man"
Jane, "a girl"
Productions
Television première
First transmitted on 20 February 1967, it formed part of BBC 2's Theatre 625 series. ;Director:
The Basement was first produced on stage at the Eastside Playhouse, in New York City, in October 1968, as part of a double bill with Pinter's play Tea Party, directed by James Hammerstein. ;Cast:
Hammerstein also directed another stage production at the Duchess Theatre, in London, on 17 September 1970 with a new cast. ;Cast:
Donald Pleasence, Law
Barry Foster, Stott
Stephanie Beacham, Jane
Works cited
Baker, William, and John C. Ross, comps. Harold Pinter: A Bibliographical History. London: The British Library ; New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2005. . . Billington, Michael. Harold Pinter. 1996. London: Faber and Faber, 2007. Pinter, Harold. The Basement. In Plays: Three. London: Eyre Methuen, 1978. . –––. The Lover, Tea Party, The Basement: Two Plays and a Film Script. New York: Grove Press, 1967.. –––. Tea Party and Other Plays. London: Methuen, 1967. British first ed.; published 15 June 1967..
