Add MS 89094

Henry Woolf was, as he describes himself in the memoir that forms part of this collection, a member of Pinter's 'Hackney gang'. Pinter and Woolf maintained a correspondence throughout their lives (although this collection contains only Pinter’s side of the correspondence). The letters from Pinter to Woolf that form the bulk of the collection span Pinter's career, beginning in 1948 when he attended R.A.D.A. It was during this unsettled time – Pinter was unhappy at R.A.D.A. – that as a conscientious objector he refused to undertake National Service. Subsequently, in 1951, Pinter joined the Anew McMaster Repertory Company, touring Ireland, and spent the next decade in repertory. Woolf also pursued a career in the dramatic arts, despite the mock warnings in Pinter’s letters to the contrary. In 1957, whilst attending the University of Bristol as a postgraduate student of theatre direction, Woolf encouraged Pinter to write his first play, The Room, and to write it quickly. Woolf immediately produced the one-act play at Bristol in May 1957, taking the role of Mr. Kidd himself.

In 1978, Woolf moved to Canada, joining the faculty of the University of Alberta. In 1983, he joined the Drama Department of the University of Saskatchewan, where he was eventually appointed Professor, retiring in 1997. Alongside his academic career, Woolf continued to pursue a varied and successful career in theatre, television and film. In 2007, at a Pinter festival at the University of Leeds, Woolf reprised his roles as Mr. Kidd in The Room and as The Man in Monologue.

This collection comprises, in the main, letters from Harold Pinter to Henry Woolf, spanning 1948-2005. In addition, there is a (largely) unpublished memoir by Henry Woolf entitled 'Barcelona is in Trouble', and a small black and white photograph of the first production (1957) of The Room, featuring Susan Engel, Henry Woolf, and Claude Jenkins. For additional Pinter-related material gathered by Henry Woolf, see Add MS 89731.