An Orton/Pinter Double Bill
The Dumb Waiter
by Harold Pinter
The Ruffian on the Stair
by Joe Orton
The Dumb Waiter - Ben and Gus, two professional assassins try to pass the time in a small and dimly lit basement as they wait for their next assignment. The two become intrigued as mysterious food orders, which neither of them know anything about, are sent down to the basement via a dumbwaiter.
The Ruffian on the Stair - In a grotty little bedsit we watch as the lives of three of society's outcasts collide with passion and danger, leaving the course of the future forever altered, for some more than others. In a world where all you have are each other, how do you go on when you're on your own? Do you settle for misery or do you rain mischief and chaos on those who orchestrated your isolation? An evening of exuberant, amoral, and ruthless excess. Anarchic fun for all the family, but maybe not the little ones… Madam Life's a piece in bloom, Death goes dogging everywhere:
She's the tenant of the room, He's the ruffian on the stair.