The History of Production of the Works of Harold Pinter
Monologue (1972)
Harold Pinter
Play script
English
A man sits alone addressing an absent friend, their close relationship having been pulled apart by a female many years ago. He explores age, melancholy and sentimentality. It was produced by the BBC for television in 1973 and for radio in 1975.
Browse productions of Monologue in the database
Date of Composition: 29 June 1972 - 29 June 1972
Linked Works
No Linked works have been added to this work record yet.
Linked Places
Balls Pond Road (Type of place: Location (within the fiction))
Balls Pond Road, Hackney, London
The speaker in Monologue mentions this road, locating his memories in Hackney.
Notting Hill Gate (Type of place: Location (within the fiction))
After locating his memories in Hackney, the character in Monologue bemoans his absent friend having 'pissed off to live in Notting Hill Gate'. Pinter thereby pre-figures his own re-location to the area in the late 1970s: 'They all end up there. I'll never end up there. I'll never end up on that side of the park' states the character of Man.
Publishers
Covent Garden Press on (1 October 1973) Confidence Level
Characters
Man (Monologue) (Age: Unknown, Male)
Resources
Full text on Drama Online (URL)
Type: Script
External Link: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/monologue-iid-134575
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Sources
Advertisement for Broadcast of Monologue, BBC Website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03rdrql
URL
The summary provided is taken from the iPlayer forum on the BBC website for a broadcast which is no longer available [accessed 13 December 2017].
Amazon Media Website (UK)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monologue-Harold-Pinter/dp/0902843702
URL
The day, month and year of publication of the first edition of the play are provided on the vendor's website [accessed 14 November 2017].
William Baker and John C. Ross's Biographical History of Harold Pinter's Work
William Baker and John C. Ross, Harold Pinter: A Bibliographical History (London: British Library; New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2005)
Bibliography
Baker and Ross provide the publication information for the play script (p. 71).
British Library Manuscripts, Joseph Brearley papers
Add MS 89422/2/7; Letter from Pinter to Brearley
Archival materials
In a letter dated ‘July I 1972’ Pinter tells Brearley that he wrote a new play ‘two days ago’, and sends him a copy. The MS in Brearley’s papers, assuming it to be the same as sent in the letter, is identical to the published version of the text. Assuming the Roman numeral ‘I’ means the 1st of July, we can date the composition of the play to 29 June 1972. In the letter, Pinter states that Henry Woolf is the person her wants to perform the role.