Synopsis: Drawing his inspiration from the long history of oppression the Kurds suffered under Turkish rule, Pinter centered his play in a prison controlled by unnamed guards in an unnamed country. As the Turkish did to the Kurds, the guards ban the prisoners' native language as they incarcerate them for unnamed crimes against the State. This enigmatic play employs the innovative techniques found in Pinter's earlier plays, blending absurdism and realism in illustration of the harsh reality of modern society and the individual's isolated and powerless state within that society.

Cast:
Katherine Cohen .... Woman in Line
Thomas Delling .... Second Guard
Ellie Hannibal .... Woman in Line
Mary Beth Kilkelly .... Woman in Line
Wendy Makkena .... Young Woman
Miguel Perez .... Guard
Peter Riegert .... Prisoner
Richard Riehle .... Sergeant
Gwynne Rivers .... Woman in Line
Jean Stapleton .... Elderly Woman
David Strathairn .... Officer, Hooded Man

Notes:
• The Birthday Party and Mountain Language (both Pinter plays) were shown back-to-back nightly, and David juggled having contrasting parts in both shows. In this play he portrayed a brutal officer, whereas in The Birthday Party he portrayed Stanley, a victim.
• David also later appeared in the U.S. premiere production of Pinter's Ashes to Ashes.
• Co-star Jean Stapleton won an Obie Award for her performance in Mountain Language.

Critical Praise & Commentary:
(Carley Perloff On David:)
• "I chose actors for this production who had power and musicality, actors who would honor the precise cadences of the language and fill the silence and stillness with rich humanity. Much of Mountain Language is about watching, listening, longing, and occasionally, daring to make a stand. We used the same company of actors for both The Birthday Party and Mountain Language, and deliberately cast each actor in radically contrasting roles, so that the audience was privy to startling transformations as the victimized Stanley (David Strathairn) became the brutalizing Officer, the wide-eyed Lulu (Wendy Makkena) became the tough and compassionate Young Woman, and the aggressive Goldberg (Peter Reigert) became the tortured Prisoner. Perhaps the greatest contrast was for Jean Stapleton, who journeyed from the irrepressible and loquacious Meg to the silent, wide-eyed Elderly Women, terrified but determined to help her desperate son in any way she possibly could. For the entire cast, the experience was an extraordinary theatrical work-out." -Carey Perloff, director, Crimes of War Magazine

• "Pinter seemed extremely moved by the production we did at CSC, in part because it was by necessity so raw and so intimate, in our small downtown space in the East Village. In pairing Mountain Language with The Birthday Party (Pinter's idea), it became immediately clear that, for all their surface differences, both pieces wrestled with a concern that has been paramount in Pinter's work from the beginning: the struggle of the individual to survive the depredations and aggressions of society." -Carey Perloff, director

Related Links:
HaroldPinter.org - The Birthday Party and Mountain Language (off site)
Crimes of War Magazine - Essay on The Birthday Party and Mountain Language by director Carey Perloff (off site)