Page 324 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes and he reads the newspaper. Their talk is inane, centering on their tenant, Stanley Webber. Petey
also tells her of two strangers who might come to rent a room.
While Meg prepares to serve her husband Petey breakfast, Stanley, described as a man in his late
thirties, who is disheveled and unshaven, enters from upstairs. Alternating between maternal and
flirtatious affectation toward Stanley, Meg tells him that two gentlemen, two new visitors, will be
arriving. At this information, Stanley appears concerned, suspicious, and disbelieving; there is “A
sudden knock on the front door” and Meg goes offstage, while Stanley listens at a voice coming
through the letter box, but it is just Lulu carrying in a package delivered for Meg. Right after Meg
and Lulu exit, Goldberg and McCann arrive, but Stanley immediately sidles through the kitchen
door and out of the back door before they can see him to eavesdrop, but they speak only vaguely
about this job they have to do with bureaucratic cliches, nevertheless rendering McCann satisfied.
After Meg’s new guests go up to their room, Stanley enters, and Meg gives him the package brought
by Lulu containing his birthday present, which he opens, revealing, inappropriately for a man his
age, a toy drum.

Illustrate the opening of the play The Birthday Party.

28.2 Act II

It is evening of the same day. McCann, at the living room table, methodically tears Petey’s newspaper
into strips. Stanley enters and begins a polite conversation. When McCann mentions the birthday
party, Stanley insists that he wants to celebrate alone, but McCann says that, as the guest of honor,
Stanley cannot skip out on it.
McCann and Stanley bicker, with Stanley acting erratically and denying that it is his birthday and
that Meg is round the bend. Goldberg sends McCann out to buy alcohol for the party that Meg has
informed them that she has planned to celebrate Stanley’s birthday, which he denies having. McCann
eventually confronts Stanley by asking Why did you leave the organization? and Why did you
betray us? telling him You betrayed our land […] you betray our breed […] you’re dead. Meg
comes down in her dress, and they begin the party, all except Stanley drinking and becoming drunk.
Lulu enters and they decide to play the children’s game blind man’s buff.

28.3 Act III

It is early the next morning. As before, Petey sits at the table reading the newspaper. Through the
hatch, Meg explains that Goldberg and McCann had eaten all the breakfast food. She enters to pour
Petey some tea and spots Stanley’s present, broken and discarded in the fireplace. She plans to fetch
Stanley down, observing that she had gone up earlier and found him talking to McCann. Meg asks
Petey about Goldberg’s car and the suspicious wheelbarrow, which, he tells her, does not exist.
Paralleling the first scene of the play, Petey is having breakfast, and Meg asks him innocuous
questions, with important differences revealing the aftermath of the party. They exit and McCann
brings in Stanley, with his broken glasses; overpowered by their rhetorical prowess, Stanley goes
catatonic and does not respond. They begin to lead him out of the house toward the car waiting to
take him to Monty. Petey confronts them one last time but passively backs down as they take Stanley
away, broken, calling out Stan, don’t let them tell you what to do! After Meg returns from shopping,
she notices that The car’s gone and as Petey remains silent, he continues to withhold his knowledge
of Stanley’s departure, allowing her to end the play without knowing the truth about Stanley.

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