The Homecoming Creative

The visible part of a play is what the audience can see on stage, mainly the actors' performances. However, the unseen forces are what drive the stage action, and the Homecoming is not the exception. The first man who should receive credit for the success of this piece is the author himself, British playwright Harold Pinter. The Homecoming was written over the course of six weeks in 1964, in Pinter's home in Ambrose Place, Worthing, a coastal town in Sussex. Much like the rest of Pinter's work, The Homecoming is ambiguous and enigmatic, among other inherent characteristics that can only be defined as 'Pinteresque.'

Besides the writer, the other creative force behind the play is that of the director. The London première was directed by Peter Hall, an English director who founded The Royal Shakespeare Company and ran the Royal National Theatre from 1973 to 1988. Other than The Homecoming, his résumé includes the plays Twelfth Night, Waiting for Godot, As You Like It, Betrayal (also by Pinter), Amadeus, The Merchant of Venice, An Ideal Husband and Pygmalion. Hall was also the director of the film version of The Homecoming. Hall has won two Tony awards on Broadway, the first of which was for The Homecoming.

The 40th anniversary of this play was celebrated with a Broadway revival, which was directed by American director and playwright Daniel J. Sullivan. Sullivan's directing credits include Retreat From Moscow, Morning's at Seven, Proof, Major Barbara, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Accent on Youth, The Homecoming, Rabbit Hole, Prelude to a Kiss, After The Night And The Music, Julius Caesar, and Ah, Wilderness. Sullivan has won a Drama Desk Award and a Tony award, ans has been nominated for those two awards in several other categories. The Homecoming as directed by Sullivan won the Tony award for best revival of a play.