The Hothouse (1958)

Harold Pinter

Play script

English

The synopsis for the radio play was submitted to the BBC in November 1958. The script was reviewed by Harold Pinter in 1980 and a revised script was the basis of a stage production and subsequent publication. In the programme for the 1980 premiere (Hampstead Theatre), Pinter indicated: 'I wrote The Hothouse in the winter of 1958. I put it aside for further deliberation and made no attempt to have it produced at the time. I then went on to write The Caretaker. In 1979 I re-read The Hothouse and decided it was worth putting on stage. I made a few cuts but no changes.'

The director of an institution is extremely stressed out to the point that he is losing his sanity. An ambitious subordinate undercuts his authority, another is an alcoholic, and his mistress is scheming and having an affair. One of the patients of the institution is supposedly murdered, and another is raped and impregnated. But when the director and one of his subordinates investigate the matter all evidence points to the former as the perpetrator. When the director's underling takes over, the result is only further mayhem.

Browse productions of The Hothouse in the database

Date of Composition: 1958

Linked Works

No Linked works have been added to this work record yet.

Linked Places

Maudsley Hospital, London (Type of place: Place of inspiration)

Maudsley Hospital, Camberwell, London

As an unemployed actor and in need of any income, Pinter volunteered as a 'guinea pig' for a psychiatric experiment which took place at this hospital. He was paid around ten shillings. He was subjected to loud noises through a set of earphones. The experience informed a scene in his 1958 play The Hothouse, extracted and adapted for a sketch entitled Applicant (1959), and also the treatment of Aston in The Caretaker.

373 Chiswick Road, London (Type of place: Place of composition)

373 Chiswick Road, London

Pinter moved here with his wife and newborn son in 1958. They lived here until 1960.

Campden Hill Square (Type of place: Place of composition)

52 Campden Hill Square, Kensington, London W8 7JR, England

Pinter lived here with Antonia Fraser from 1977 until his death. From April 1979, he had a studio for his writing at the bottom of their garden, on Aubrey Road.

The play was originally written for radio in 1958, though the play was never broadcast at that time, and discarded. Pinter reconsidered the manuscript in 1979, and made some small adjustments in preparing it for the stage.

Confidence Level

Publishers

Eyre Methuen on (1980)

Characters

Roote (Age: fifties, Male)

Gibbs (The Hothouse) (Age: thirties, Not specified)

Lamb (Age: twenties, Male)

Character repeats in several works.

Character appears in the sketch Applicant (published 1961), where he is 'a young man'. Same character name used in the play The Hothouse (1958/1980), where he is 'in his twenties'.

Miss Cutts (Age: thirties, Female)

Lush (Age: thirties, Male)

Tubb (Age: 50, Male)

Lobb (Age: 50, Male)

Resources

Full text on Drama Online (URL)

Type: Script

External Link: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/the-hothouse-iid-129732

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Sources

Stage Agent website

http://stageagent.com/shows/play/1990/the-hothouse

URL

The summary of the play is taken and adapted from the synopsis provided on the website, a resource for theatre artists.