Just Say The ** Lines Poem by gershon hepner

“Just say the ** lines, ” to Alan
Ayckbourne Harold Pinter said.
The word that’s missing wasn’t Wallon,
or made up out of Pinter’s head.
He merely wished to emphasize
that actors shouldn’t try to duck
a character they may despise,
as if they do not give a **.


Discussing Harold Pinter, Emmanuel Levy wrote (http: //www.emanuellevy.com/article.php? articleID=6634) :

A great deal is written about the inviolable nature of the Pinter text and even more about the author's refusal to analyze or explain his work. Many of the stories are undoubtedly apocryphal (although it may be true that the young Alan Ayckbourn, then an actor appearing in The Birthday Party, asked Pinter for pointers about his character and received the reply: 'Mind your own f***ing business. Just say the lines.'

12/25/08