The Transition from Domestic Sphere to International Sphere in Pinter’s Political Play: Ashes to Ashes

Abstract

Initially influenced by the absurd tradition in the 1950s, Harold Pinter progressed from the comedy of menace to memory plays, continuing to write implicit plays during the 1960s political drama boom unlike contemporaries such as John Arden, Arnold Wesker, and Edward Bond. However, influenced by globalization, Pinter produced overtly political drama after the 1980s, reviving the New British Theatre through works such as One for the Road and Mountain Language. Expanding beyond British issues to become the voice of many countries, he confronted international concerns including the Gulf War, American dominance, and the disempowerment of minority rights, sharply criticizing British and American policies even in his Nobel speech while resisting the political playwright label. This paper discusses how Pinter's early domestic sphere transforms into a universally oppressive space filled with violence, rape, death, and surveillance in his late plays. The analysis demonstrates that dramatized space broadens both literally and figuratively; the early image of the 'room' is superseded by global cities and foreign nations as the loci of oppression and political power. Conclusively, his late stage goes beyond the world of the theatre, revealing how his political play Ashes to Ashes cuts across all boundaries.