The History of Production of the Works of Harold Pinter
Moonlight (1993)
Harold Pinter
Play script
English
The play is set in two bedrooms and an indefinite dark space. One is occupied by Andy, a dying ex-civil servant tended by his wife, Bel. The other area, a shabby bedsit, is inhabited by Andy's estranged sons, Jake and Fred, who pass their days playing fantasy games about father-figures. Two other characters appear: Maria, Andy's former mistress, and her husband Ralph, a onetime soccer referee. Meanwhile, Andy and Bel's daughter, Bridget, hovers over the action.
Date of Composition: 11 December 1992 - 27 January 1993 Confidence Level
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
Ralph and Andy in Moonlight both speak of walking down the Balls Pond Road, locating their memories near Pinter's youth in Hackney.
Amersham (Type of place: Location (within the fiction))
In Moonlight, in a flashback scene, Jake talks of wanting to drive to Amersham to see a gig. This might locate the play as set in a family home in London. In an interview in 1993, Pinter talks of having played cricket in Great Hampden, which from London one would reach by road by travelling through Amersham.
Publishers
Faber and Faber Ltd on (6 September 1993)
Characters
Andy (Age: fifties, Male)
Bel (Age: 50, Female)
Jake (Moonlight) (Age: 28, Male)
Fred (Moonlight) (Age: 27, Male)
Maria (Moonlight) (Age: 50, Female)
Ralph (Age: fifties, Male)
Bridget (Moonlight) (Age: 16, Female)
Resources
Full text on Drama Online (URL)
Type: Script
External Link: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/moonlight-iid-134610
Subscription required
Sources
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
On p. 102 Baker and Ross provide the publication information for the play script.
Harold Pinter Appointments Diary, 1992
The British Library Modern Manuscripts, The Harold Pinter Archive, Add MS 88880/12/25, no ff
Library archive
Information about composition date (started) taken from entry for month of December.
The Guardian Website
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/apr/13/moonlight-michael-billington
URL
The summary of Moonlight is taken and adapted from Michael Billington's review of Bijan Sheibani's 2011 production of the play at the Donmar Warehouse, London [accessed 14 November 2017].
Harold Pinter Appointments Diary, 1993
The British Library Modern Manuscripts, The Harold Pinter Archive, Add MS 88880/12/26, no ff
Library archive
Information about date of composition (finished) taken from entry for January.