The Hothouse

Setting

The play is set in an institution whose nature is subject to interpretation; throughout the play, it is ambiguously referred to as both a "rest home" and a "sanitorium" but its "residents" or "patients" are designated anonymously by numbers, not by their names.

Plot

The professionalism and even sanity of the institution's director, Roote, are undermined by his subordinates: the efficient and ambitious Gibbs, the aptly named alcoholic Lush, and Miss Cutts, Roote's calculating and shrewd mistress who is also involved with Gibbs. After the reported murder of one patient and the rape and resulting pregnancy of another, Roote orders Gibbs to find the perpetrator(s), who it appears is Roote himself, and Gibbs supplants his boss as administrator of the corrupt "rest home", whose inmates converge upon the staff, resulting in mayhem.

List of characters

• Roote, a man in his fifties
• Gibbs, a man in his thirties
• Lush, a man in his thirties
• Miss Cutts, a woman in her thirties
• Lamb, a man in his twenties
• Tubb, a man of fifty
• Lobb, a man of fifty

Critical reception and interpretation

The play has been interpreted as a searingly comic indictment of institutional bureaucracy; its black comedy and absurdism exposing hierarchical power structures anticipate Pinter's later more overtly political dramatic sketches and plays, such as "The New World Order" (1983), One for the Road (1984), and Mountain Language (1988).

Productions

World premiere

"First presented at Hampstead Theatre, London, on 24 April 1980 and transferred to the Ambassador Theatre, London on 25 June 1980"; directed by Harold Pinter.

Cast:

• Derek Newark, Roote
• James Grant, Gibbs
• Roger Davidson, Lamb
• Angela Pleasence, Miss Cutts
• Robert East, Lush
• Michael Forrest, Tubb
• Edward de Souza, Lobb

Other theatre personnel:

• Eileen Diss, Set Designer
• Elizabeth Waller, Costume Designer
• Gerry Jenkinson, Lighting
• Dominic Muldowney, Sound

American premiere

The American premiere was directed by Adrian Hall at the Trinity Repertory Company for its 1981–1982 season and transferred to the Playhouse Theatre in New York City, from 30 April through 30 May 1982, produced by Arthur Cantor Associates. Richard Kavanaugh, who played Gibbs, was nominated for "Best Performance by a Featured Actor" at the 36th Tony Awards in 1982.

Cast:

• Dan Butler, Lamb
• Peter Gerety, Lush
• David C. Jones, Lobb
• Richard Kavanaugh, Gibbs
• Howard London, Tubb
• George Martin, Roote
• Amy Van Nostrand, Miss Cutts

Other theatre personnel:

• Eugene Lee, Scenic and Lighting Design
• William Lane, Costume Design

London revivals

A revival of The Hothouse, directed by Ian Rickson, with a cast including Stephen Moore (Roote), Lia Williams (Miss Cutts), and Henry Woolf (Tubb), was staged in the Lyttelton at the Royal National Theatre, London, from 11 July to 27 October 2007.

;London 2013 During May–August 2013 the play was presented at Studio One in the West End Trafalgar Studios, directed by Jamie Lloyd. It starred Simon Russell Beale, John Simm, Indira Varma, Harry Melling, John Heffernan, Clive Rowe and Christopher Timothy.

Notes

References

1. "The Hothouse – Premiere". Harold Pinter.
2. (7 May 1982). "Hothouse, A New-Old Pinter". [[The New York Times]].
3. "The Hothouse – 1995". Harold Pinter.
4. John Thaxter. (19 July 2007). "What's On: Reviews – The Hothouse". thestage.co.uk.
5. (16 March 1982). "Theater: Some like it hot". The Boston Phoenix.
6. "The Hothouse (Playhouse Theatre)". ibdb.com.
7. (11 July 2007). "The Hothouse". National Theatre Online.
8. "Home".