The Stage

Harman to star in Sheffield Pinter celebration

Published Tuesday 5 September 2006 at 13:10 by Nuala Calvi

A Sheffield-wide festival celebrating the life of Harold Pinter will launch on September 24 with a match at the Gaieties Cricket Club, where the playwright formerly played and is now chairman, featuring EastEnders’ Nigel Harman, Leslie Grantham and Sheffield Theatres artistic director Sam West.

Pinter: A Celebration runs until November 11 and features performances, screenplays, readings and speaker meetings across the city, including a production of The Caretaker at the Crucible Theatre from October 11, starring Harman.

The Guys and Dolls star will also take part in an event exploring Pinter’s poetry, featuring readings, music from the Elias String Quartet and afternoon tea at Sheffield Theatres.

The venues will play host to a number of events including an evening with the West family, when Sam West, Timothy West and Prunella Scales will perform a rehearsed reading of Pinter’s comedy Family Voices, followed by Sam interviewing his parents about their combined experience of more than 100 years in the acting world.

Guardian theatre critic and Pinter biographer Michael Billington will appear on the Crucible stage to interview actors Penelope Wilton and Douglas Hodge about the trials and triumphs of acting in Pinter plays.

Other highlights include a Pinter season at The Showroom Cinema featuring Pinter’s screenplays and his work as an actor, as well as a Pinter film quiz hosted by Sam West.

Full listings can be found on the Sheffield Theatres website