Harold Pinter and Hackney's Creative Force
Hackney Gazette
Harold Pinter, playwright, author, activist and Hackney Downs old boy passed away on Christmas eve at the age of 78. Pinter is best known for his plays which are said to have changed the face of British theatre. But he was also a successful director, screenplay writer, actor and poet. During his lifetime he was awarded the CBE, the German Shakespeare Prize, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature and the David Cohen British Literature Prize and in 2005, the Nobel Prize for Literature. But, a lifelong socialist, he turned down a peerage.
Pinter was a Hackney boy born and brought up in Lower Clapton. In interviews he spoke fondly of his early life in Hackney. His father worked as a tailor in Stoke Newington and his mother was a housewife. The family were Jewish of East European origin. Pinter was educated at what was then Hackney Downs Grammar School (Mossbourne Academy now stands on that site). Whilst there he was greatly influenced by his English teacher who encouraged him to engage with literature and drama and to act in school plays. He clearly enjoyed being at Hackney Downs and spending time with his friends around the River Lea. Hackney Downs was where Pinter first found his love for playing cricket, and he continued to be a life-long fan of the sport. During his time in Hackney he was also a member of the Hackney Film Club and enjoyed regular trips to local cinemas with his school-friends.
Harold Pinter is a brilliant example of the creativity that thrives in Hackney. The area has always been a hub for the arts and many successful artists, writers, actors and film producers and journalists now live in the area. In the past Hackney has housed such famous names as American writer Edgar Allen Poe, shoe designer Jimmy Choo, singer Leona Lewis (who still lives in Stamford Hill), Dr Who actress Freema Agyeman, actor Michael Caine and the Children’s Poet Laureate Michael Rosen, who currently lives in Dalston. The area also has a long history in theatre. Some of the first theatres ever built in this country were situated in Shoreditch; including The Theatre, which was the first theatre to show a Shakespeare play. The wonderful Hackney Empire opened here in 1901 and continues to put on hugely successful shows, not least the famous Hackney Empire pantomimes.
In last week’s Gazette there were details of the Friends of Clapton Cinematograph Theatre campaign to turn the site of former nightclub the Palace Pavilion back into a cinema. I am a great supporter of the campaign because I believe a cinema is needed in the area and would be a great use of the space on Lower Clapton Road. The idea of turning the building into a cinematic centre as a memorial to Harold Pinter is fantastic. I can think of no better way to honour this Hackney boy turned literary great.
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