Applicant (sketch)
Encyclopedia
Applicant is a dramatic sketch
written by Harold Pinter
. Originally written in 1959 and first published by Eyre Methuen in 1961, it was first broadcast on BBC Radio on the Third Programme
"between February and March 1964," along with Pinter's other revue sketches, That's Your Trouble, That's All, Interview, and Dialogue for Three.
A revised and much-expanded version of Applicant is incorporated in the last scene of Act One of Pinter's play The Hothouse
, wherein the character still called Lamb is "tested" in "a soundproof room" by Miss Cutts, the successor of Miss Piffs, and her colleague Gibbs (58–78).
According to Pinter's official authorised biographer Michael Billington
, the sketch (and the scene in The Hothouse) was inspired by and reproduced details of "his own experience [as 'a guinea pig']" at the Maudsley Hospital
in London" in 1954, in which he took part to earn "ten bob or something" and about which he told Billington: "The Hothouse was kicked off by that experience. I was well aware of being used for an experiment and feeling quite powerless" (Harold Pinter 102, 104).
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
written by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. Originally written in 1959 and first published by Eyre Methuen in 1961, it was first broadcast on BBC Radio on the Third Programme
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
"between February and March 1964," along with Pinter's other revue sketches, That's Your Trouble, That's All, Interview, and Dialogue for Three.
A revised and much-expanded version of Applicant is incorporated in the last scene of Act One of Pinter's play The Hothouse
The Hothouse
The Hothouse is a full-length tragicomedy written by Harold Pinter in the winter of 1958 between The Birthday Party and The Caretaker...
, wherein the character still called Lamb is "tested" in "a soundproof room" by Miss Cutts, the successor of Miss Piffs, and her colleague Gibbs (58–78).
According to Pinter's official authorised biographer Michael Billington
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
, the sketch (and the scene in The Hothouse) was inspired by and reproduced details of "his own experience [as 'a guinea pig']" at the Maudsley Hospital
Maudsley Hospital
The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in South London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the country...
in London" in 1954, in which he took part to earn "ten bob or something" and about which he told Billington: "The Hothouse was kicked off by that experience. I was well aware of being used for an experiment and feeling quite powerless" (Harold Pinter 102, 104).
Characters
- Lamb, "a young man, eager, cheerful, enthusiastic"
- Miss Piffs, "the essence of efficiency" (231)
Synopsis
Applying for a job, Lamb, who identifies himself in the dialogue as a "physicist" (231), is given a psychological test by Miss Piffs. She "attaches" "electrodes" and "earphones" to him and Lamb is subjected to a "piercing high pitched buzz-hum" (232). Before he has recovered, Miss Piffs bombards him with social, medical and sexual questions (232–34), in response to which he says "in a high voice", "Well, it depends what you mean really—" (234). At the climax of her interrogation she "presses the other button and the piercing buzz-hum is heard again" (234). Lamb "collapses", and "Silence" falls, as "He lies face upwards", as Miss Piffs "looks at him" and ends the sketch with "Thank you very much, Mr. Lamb. We'll let you know" (234).External links
- "Sketches (2002): Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, London" – In "Plays" at HaroldPinter.org: Official Website of the International Playwright Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. (This production, Sketches I and Sketches II, did not include Applicant; but it included several of Pinter's other sketches previously produced along with it.)