Pinter’s Caretaker added to Northampton season

Published: 25 March 2017
Reporter: Steve Orme

Exploring the 21st century resonances of Pinter’s The Caretaker: Northampton’s Royal and Derngate

Northampton’s Royal and Derngate has added Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker to its Made in Northampton 2017 season.

The co-production with Bristol Old Vic will be directed by Christopher Haydon—his first since leaving London’s Gate Theatre where he was artistic director from 2012 until 2017. He directed George Brant’s Grounded at the Gate and on an international tour in 2017, which won a Fringe first and best production in the Off West End awards, and Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men at Birmingham REP in 2013.

The Caretaker was said to have changed the face of modern theatre. The production will “explore the 21st century resonances of a play dealing with the desire to belong, the threat of alienation and the paranoia of living in a changing cultural landscape”.

Royal and Derngate artistic director James Dacre commented, “all our productions this year offer powerful tales of characters who show humanity and the power of hope on their journey to find a place where they belong.

“Their stories explore globalisation, asylum and identity in modern Britain, depicting how we develop strategies for dealing with a changing world. Above all The Caretaker portrays our need to belong in both good times and bad and I’m certain that Chris’s vision for the production will express these themes in a way that speaks powerfully to Northampton today.”

The Caretaker is an addition to Royal and Derngate’s previously announced season which begins in April with Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman featuring Tim Pigott-Smith.

The Caretaker opens in Bristol in September and transfers to Northampton from 17 until 28 October.

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