The Birthday Party

The play is set in a run-down seaside boarding house run by Petey and Meg Boles, a married couple in their sixties. It’s morning, and Petey enters from outside. He sits at the table and reads a newspaper. Meg enters and greets him eagerly, as if she has been waiting for his arrival, and initiates her daily routine of housewifely attention. She brings his cornflakes, already prepared, and earnestly peppers Petey with trivial questions: “Are [the cornflakes] nice?” (9), “What does [the paper] say?” (10), “Is it nice out?” (10). Petey responds agreeably and with patience to each one. A thirty-something man named Stanley Webber, a former pianist, has also been staying with the Boles for the past year, and when Meg wonders if Stanley is awake, Petey doesn’t know. Petey relays a birth announcement in the paper, and Meg asks for details, finding it disappointing that the baby is a girl rather than a boy. Meg announces that she has more for him and presents a plate of fried bread. Before Petey can try it, Meg asks, “Is it nice?” (12). Meg watches intently as he eats.

Petey mentions that he met two men on the beach the night before who were looking for a place to stay. Meg is pleased that word of their boarding house is spreading; she states proudly, “This house is on the list” (12), and exclaims that she has a very nice room ready for the men. Meg comments that she is going to wake Stanley up. Petey tells her that there’s a new show that will be in town, but it’s not a musical, so there’s no dancing or singing. Meg asks what the play involves if there’s no music, and Petey replies, “They just talk” (13). Meg reminisces about Stanley playing the piano, and she goes off to wake him—much to Stanley’s displeasure. Stanley shouts at Meg while she laughs hysterically. She returns and explains that she told Stanley that if he doesn’t come down quickly, he won’t get breakfast. Meg exits to get Stanley’s cornflakes, and a disheveled Stanley enters. Unlike Petey, Stanley’s replies to Meg’s questions are negative and argumentative. He says that he didn’t sleep and that the cornflakes are terrible and in sour milk.

Stanley wants a hot breakfast, but Meg refuses, even when Petey urges her to make something. After fetching his plate of fried bread and offering it to Stanley, Petey announces that he is going to work, even though Meg reminds him that he hasn’t had his tea. Petey exits, and Stanley chides Meg for being a bad wife who feeds her husband sour milk instead of tea. Meg is defensive, praising both herself as a wife and the reputation of the boarding house. Though Stanley mocks her and points out that he has been their only guest for the last year, Meg calls him a liar and again emphasizes the house’s popularity, saying, “This house is on the list” (17). She asks him about the fried bread, and he calls it “[s]ucculent.” Meg exclaims, “You shouldn’t say that word to a married woman” (17). She offers him tea but makes him say “please” and attempts to elicit an apology, but he only teases her. When she brings the tea, Stanley complains that it is undrinkable, calling her a “succulent old washing bag” (18) and berating her for entering his room and waking him up. Meg starts dusting the room, and Stanley yells at her when she begins to dust the table. After a moment, Meg asks bashfully, “Am I really succulent?” (19). Stanley agrees that she is and is better than a head cold, which pleases her.

Suddenly, Stanley angrily rebukes her for not cleaning the house well enough and criticizes the state of his room. Meg rubs his arm sensually and disagrees with his assessment of the room. Stanley pulls back as if repulsed by her touch and storms out the door. When he returns, she tickles him playfully, and he shoves her off. Meg mentions that she is going shopping because two men are coming to stay for a couple of days. Stanley is immediately suspicious, asking who they are and how they found the house. He insists that it’s a prank and that there won’t be any guests. Then, he complains that she cleared away the tea, and with an air of danger, asks, “Who do you think you’re talking to?” (21).

After a pause, Meg asks timidly when he will play the piano again. Stanley tells her that he has a job offer to play piano and tour the world. Meg asks him about when he last played a concert, and he tells her about his celebrated performance, to which he had almost invited his father. Stanley was supposed to play again, but when he showed up, the concert hall was shuttered, which he interpreted as a ploy to make him beg. Meg asks Stanley to stay with her instead of going away on the upcoming tour, solicitous over how he is feeling.

Stanley attempts to frighten Meg by casually telling her that “they’re coming today” (24). Without clarifying who “they” are, he says they’ll be in a van with a wheelbarrow and looking for someone. Afraid, Meg calls him a liar. Suddenly, Lulu, a young woman in her twenties, knocks on the door. Meg greets her, and they speak vaguely about a package that has arrived. Meg goes off to shop, and Lulu brings the package in, warning Stanley not to touch it. She comments on Stanley’s lack of grooming and suggests that he come out with her for fresh air. Stanley asks her to go away with him, but when she asks where, he replies, “Nowhere. There’s nowhere to go. So we could just go” (26). Still scrutinizing his appearance, Lulu asks if he really must wear his glasses; he says he needs them. After Stanley declines to go for a walk with her, Lulu calls him “a bit of a washout” (26) and exits.

Stanley looks at himself in the mirror and then washes his face. Two men enter: Goldberg, a man in his fifties, and McCann, who is 30. Stanley sees them and slips out the door. McCann is agitated, but Goldberg tells him to remain calm. McCann wonders if they have the right house, and they refer cryptically to a job that McCann doesn’t know the details about. Goldberg says that when “they” gave him the job, he specifically asked for McCann to help him, and McCann expresses appreciation, adding, “You’ve always been a true Christian” (29). Goldberg replies, “In a way” (29). Goldberg tells him vaguely that the job will be both similar and different from previous jobs.

Meg returns, and Goldberg introduces himself and McCann as the men who met Petey on the beach and asked for a room. Goldberg asks friendly questions, learning that they have one other boarder and questioning Meg about Stanley. Meg answers easily about how long Stanley has been there, mentioning that he plays the piano. She adds that today is Stanley’s birthday, but she hasn’t told him yet. Goldberg insists that they throw a party, and Meg agrees.

Goldberg flatters Meg as she shows them to their room. Stanley enters and listens. Meg comes back into the living room, and when Stanley asks her about the men, she relays Goldberg’s name. She tells Stanley that he should be happier because it’s his birthday. Stanley denies it’s his birthday, but Meg offers him a gift, the package on the table. Meg insists that it’s his birthday, and Stanley opens the package: It’s a child’s drum, which Meg explains is his gift because they don’t have a piano. Stanley puts the drum on and starts to play steadily, marching around; the steady beat gradually becomes wild and aggressive. Meg looks distressed as he plays violently next to her chair.