Harold Pinter

The writer is a kind of spy. He observes, he listens, he records.

I'm not interested in giving people what they want. I'm interested in giving them what they need.

The theatre is a mirror. It reflects society.

I'm not interested in making people feel good. I'm interested in making them feel something.

The writer's job is to disturb the peace.

I'm not interested in easy answers. I'm interested in difficult questions.

The theatre is a place where we can confront our fears.

I'm not interested in being understood. I'm interested in being heard.

The writer's job is to tell the truth, even if it's an uncomfortable truth.

I'm not interested in comforting people. I'm interested in challenging them.

Apart from the known and the unknown, what else is there?

I think--yes, I think we communicate only too well, in our silence, in our sleep, in our dreams.

There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.

I believe that the play's the thing and that nothing is more beautiful than a really good play.

One way of looking at speech is to say that it is a constant stratagem to cover nakedness.

The speech we hear is an indication of that which we don't hear. It is a necessary fiction.

I can't go into a room anywhere in the world without thinking of the bomb.

How can I talk about the play? I'm not an expert on the play. I'm the author.

Silence is the most powerful scream.

Language exists only on the edge of the abyss.