A screenplay of Proust's In Search of Lost Time sounds like a hopeless project. In the most recent translation, Proust's novel ran to over 4,000 pages. Reducing this to a screenplay would seem to require cuts of such magnitude that nothing of the novel would be left. Indeed, those movies that have been made of the novel usually are of a small part, like the Swann in Love section of Swann's Way. Pinter, however, managed to pull off the impossible. He concentrated on key events in the novel, and even more on key images. It is hard to say whether this would have worked with someone totally unfamilar with the material. However, presenting Proust's novel in any literal fashion would be impossible, and probably contrary to what he attempted to accomplish in his novel. Pinter's screenplay, for anyone who has read the novel, is a tremendous success. Unfortunately, it was never made into a movie.

I believe that this play is very well written. Just like Pinters other plays, he has added an element of comedy to it, yet omits the "real ending" leaving you to imagine what happens after the lights go down. Harold Pinter and be closely compared to Samuel Beckett, they both refuse to give explanations of the characters or endings. I recommend this book if you like to use your imagination.

This was my second Pinter play, and I must say that I enjoyed Old Times much more than The Homecoming, which felt too unpleasant.

There is no plot to speak of, but it has three enigmatic characters (one male, two females) who discuss events in the past. This really doesn't belong in the 'theatre of the absurd' category, but one can call it a 'nominal comedy', along the same lines as Albee's A Delicate Balance, because everything is the same at the end as the beginning.

The reason this play works is due to Pinter's growing control over his characters and the complete brilliance he has in his situational writing. He doesn't write of plots, but he raises so many questions. The fact that none are answered is really of no consequence. It is a difficult play, but a rewarding one.

"Old Times" isn't about a story because there really isn't one. It's about the idea of memory being relative. It's about the basics, three people left to discuss the real or not so real past. I think anyone could read this play and appreciate it. Keep an open mind and don't be too preoccupied with "what happened".