The theater world lost one of its brightest lights on Christmas Eve with the death of playwright Harold Pinter. The 78-year-old British Nobel Prize winner, whose best-known plays included “The Homecoming” and “The Birthday Party,” succumbed to throat cancer on Wednesday.


Los Angeles Times:

In recent years Pinter had dedicated himself to political activism, frequently turning his attention to the U.S. On the eve of the Iraq War, he called the George W. Bush administration a “monster out of control.” After the war began, Pinter said U.S. policies were “beyond reason” and compared them to those of Nazi Germany. His attacks alienated some who thought that great playwrights needn’t be politically outspoken.

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