THE STORIES: The Dwarfs. The play is concerned with three young men, Len, Pete and Mark, and the scene of action shifts back and forth between Len's house and Mark's. Sometimes all three come together, sometimes only two, and often Len is on stage alone. There are conversations and soliloquies filled with the brilliant convolutions of thought, the sudden flashes of truth that distinguish Pinter's unique style, with the mood ranging from calm introspection to explosive outpouring. Much of what is said hints at deeper thoughts left unspoken, and the sense of horror and alienation that often emerges is a searing indictment of our life and times. We meet, we talk, we tear at each other, but our insularity is seldom penetrated. We are together but alone, as though life were a mirror that reflects only our own image. But there is humor too, again distinctively Pinteresque in its startling swings from the direct to the illusive, and, in the end, there is a promise of perfectibility in the inescapable fact of change that dominates all. (3 men.)
Trouble in the Works. A worker tells the boss that the men in the mill are satisfied with working conditions—its the products they object to. (2 men.)
The Black and White. Two old buddies, with little to do and nowhere to go, make small talk over soup in a crowded milk bar. (2 women.)
Request Stop. A brief monologue by a "lady" waiting in a bus queue. Is it her fault if the men she asked directions of should race to the wrong conclusions? (2 men, 3 women.)
Last to Go. A coffee stall. The attendant and an old newspaper seller chat idly about a variety of pointless topics that probably mean little to either of them. (2 men.)
That's All. "Mrs. A" and "Mrs. B" chatter on about a third party who used to come around on Wednesdays, but changed to Thursdays, because she wanted to go to her old butcher shop—or something of that sort. (2 women.)
That's Your Trouble. Two men in a park engage in a heated discussion about where a man carrying a sandwich board will feel the strain first—and most. (2 men.)
The New World Order. Two men stand above a third—tied and blindfolded—talking to each other but addressing the third man. The insinuations and threats about what will become of—and what will be done to—this third man represent the forces in today's world that stifle freedom in its many forms. The fear and uncertainty conveyed by this short piece powerfully remind us that the evils of the world will always try to conquer us if we don't heed the warnings. (3 men.)
