The World of the Play
Every play has its own society, morality, psychology, and aesthetic reality. The Dumb Waiter, however, is a play that lies in the theatre of the absurd. The theatre of the absurd expresses what happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down, in fact alerting their audiences to pursue the opposite.
Time
We never find out what time period the play takes place in, though we know it is a Friday (93). Furthermore, it is most likely fall or spring because of the football. It is during the time when the Villa and the Tottenham Hotspurs played (94), though the Villa and Hotspurs have been playing each other since before the 1920s, and have continued to play each other since then. Within the last few years or so, the Villa lost a cup match after being in a tie and loosing to a penalty. The end score was 2-1.
Upon further research, the most likely match was in 1928. The Villa lost 2-1 and the Hotspurs had a penalty score. However, the match took place in White Hart Lane, which is in Tottenham. In the play, Gus is sure that they saw the match in Birmingham and that they never had a job in Tottenham because "I'd remember Tottenham" (94). Ben responds saying, "Don't make me laugh, will you" (94), which is neither the affirmative or negative, though it implies that Ben thinks Gus would easily forget what cities they'd had a job in. The last piece of evidence that points to Gus having seen the match in Tottenham is that the Tottenham jersey colors are only white when they are at home. Gus says, "who was it against again? White shirts" (93), and yet Tottenham would not have worn white if they were away at Birmingham.
It is fascinating that Pinter would have chosen to either have a random match (because 1928 was a while before the play was written), or to have Gus be unreliable in his memory.
Upon further research, the most likely match was in 1928. The Villa lost 2-1 and the Hotspurs had a penalty score. However, the match took place in White Hart Lane, which is in Tottenham. In the play, Gus is sure that they saw the match in Birmingham and that they never had a job in Tottenham because "I'd remember Tottenham" (94). Ben responds saying, "Don't make me laugh, will you" (94), which is neither the affirmative or negative, though it implies that Ben thinks Gus would easily forget what cities they'd had a job in. The last piece of evidence that points to Gus having seen the match in Tottenham is that the Tottenham jersey colors are only white when they are at home. Gus says, "who was it against again? White shirts" (93), and yet Tottenham would not have worn white if they were away at Birmingham.
It is fascinating that Pinter would have chosen to either have a random match (because 1928 was a while before the play was written), or to have Gus be unreliable in his memory.
Place
Birmingham, England, the second biggest city in Britain (93).
The action of the play takes place in a basement that has most likely been converted into a bedroom from a restaurant, according to Ben (104).
The action of the play takes place in a basement that has most likely been converted into a bedroom from a restaurant, according to Ben (104).
Society
Another interpretation is that the play is a political drama showing how the individual is destroyed by a higher power. "Each of Harold Pinter's [first] four plays ends in the virtual annihilation of an individual.... It is by his bitter dramas of dehumanisation that he implies "the importance of humanity". The religion and society, which have traditionally structured human morality, are, in Pinter's plays, the immoral agents that destroy the individual. "Pinter supported the interpretation of The Birthday Party and The Dumb Waiter as "political plays about power and victimisation"
Overall, "Ben and Gus are both victims of some unseen authority and a surrogate married couple quarrelling, testing, talking past each other and raking over old times". It is "a strongly political play about the way a hierarchical society, in pitting the rebel against the conformist, places both at its mercy", but at the same time "a deeply personal play about the destructiveness of betrayal".
"For an audience to gaze into Ben and Gus' closed basement room and overhear their everyday prattle is to gain insight into ... the terrifying vision of the dominant-subservient battle for power, a battle in which societies and individuals engage as a part of daily existence".
Overall, "Ben and Gus are both victims of some unseen authority and a surrogate married couple quarrelling, testing, talking past each other and raking over old times". It is "a strongly political play about the way a hierarchical society, in pitting the rebel against the conformist, places both at its mercy", but at the same time "a deeply personal play about the destructiveness of betrayal".
"For an audience to gaze into Ben and Gus' closed basement room and overhear their everyday prattle is to gain insight into ... the terrifying vision of the dominant-subservient battle for power, a battle in which societies and individuals engage as a part of daily existence".
Economics
Ben and Gus get paid every time they kill someone. This only happens about once a week, but apparently they get enough to live off of.
Obliquely mentioned are the exchange of money for going to see a football match or buying food at the restaurant above the basement.
Obliquely mentioned are the exchange of money for going to see a football match or buying food at the restaurant above the basement.
Politics and Law
The only law that we see is Gus and Ben's boss, Wilson. Wilson is the one who tells them where to go and who to kill. It is Wilson who supposedly told Ben to kill Gus. We can assume from Ben's side comments about Gus not being prepared and not cleaning his gun, and Gus's general uneasy and questioning attitude (scatterbrain), Gus might have been killed because he was starting to become a bad hitman. Gus is also childish, going on at length about the crockery and not knowing about lighting the kettle.
What usually would be a crime is normal in this world; Ben and Gus kill people every week and they don't seem to worry about a body of law coming after them.
What usually would be a crime is normal in this world; Ben and Gus kill people every week and they don't seem to worry about a body of law coming after them.
Spirituality
Wilson is a God-like character, integral to the story but absent. It mimics a religion in that messages from God are relayed to its followers. These messages are expected to be obeyed, just like how Ben and Gus are expected to follow Wilson's orders. Ben and Gus have no idea what their next job will be; they just wait in the room for orders from their boss that they never see.
Learning and the Arts
Learning and the arts appear throughout the play, from the newspaper that Ben reads, to the Culinary expertise needed to complete the restaurant orders sent down the dumb waiter. Things like Ben's building of model boats, the photograph of the "First Eleven," and Ben's insistent polishing of his gone similarly falls under this category. In terms of learning, most examples are embodied through Gus who questions the hidden cogs of the organization he's a part of (103) and references the tests they've taken (118).