The Caretaker and The Dumb Waiter: Two Plays Book

In Pinter's The Caretaker, there is the Pinter-room, here both a haven and a hell for the character of the old man. There are the Pinter-pauses and the Pinter-humor, both used to great effect, though the Pinter-pitch-perfect dialogue does become a bit repetitive. The play could've been shorter and still achieved the same effect, even with each of the three characters getting his own lengthy monologue, one per act.

There is also the Pinter-ambiguity. Is the older brother who has had electroshock therapy actually saner than his younger brother? Is there a method to the younger brother's madness, or is he just mad? If the former, what would be the point of his messing with the old man's mind? And how is it that the old man -- an ingratiating, conniving bigoted individual -- uses up the older brother's sympathy but gains ours? And who is the "caretaker"? I thought I knew, but now I think I don't.

The Dumb Waiter is a comedy act of "Abbott & Costello meets Pulp Fiction's Travolta & Samuel L. Jackson," with a chilling, if a tad predictable, ending. Suspecting that this one-act would be of lesser quality than "The Caretaker," I found myself surprised at how entertaining, and even thought-provoking, it is.