The Dumb Waiter

The Dumb Waiter is a 1960 one-act play by British playwright and actor Harold Pinter. A modernist tragicomedy, it tells the story of two hired assassins named Ben and Gus while they wait in a basement room for their target to appear. In their boredom, the hitmen bicker about trivial issues and rehearse the murder. Soon their sense of reality begins to falter, and strange events unfold inside the basement. The play’s absurd series of events is characteristic of Pinter’s work, which exposed the irrational features and backward logic of modern stories and dilemmas.

The play takes place entirely in a basement with a small kitchenette and several twin beds. As it opens, Gus is in the middle of tying his shoes, and Ben is reading the news. Gus walks to the door, then pulls a matchbox and a cigarette carton out of his shoes. Both have been flattened by his foot. He places the cigarettes and matches in his pocket and then goes to the bathroom. When he returns, Ben tells Gus that he has just read a story about a vehicle killing an old man. Gus murmurs that he hopes their job will be over quickly. Ben talks about another news story, and Gus asks why the bathroom toilet takes so long to flush. Gus complains that his job requires him to sleep poorly in unfamiliar rooms and work in the dead of night. Having filled itself with water, the toilet flushes offstage. The two men talk vaguely about their drive to work that morning; Gus brings up a Birmingham soccer game that the two once saw together. Ben states that he never went to such an event.

Suddenly, a sealed envelope slides beneath the door. Gus opens it, finding twelve matches enclosed. Ben tells Gus to open the door to see if anyone is there. Gun in hand, Gus opens it but sees no one. Ben tells him to use a match to light the kettle. This devolves into a pointless discussion about the meaning of the phrase “light the kettle.” Their argument becomes heated, and Ben reminds Gus that he is his superior. After several botched tries, Gus lights the kettle. He wonders aloud who their victim will be later that night. He sits down on Ben’s bed and asks, several times, who their victim will be. Ben berates Gus for asking questions that distract from their work and tells him to make tea. Gus walks away, and Ben stares at his revolver, which he keeps under his pillow.



When Gus returns, he says that the stove is no longer working because it needs more coins to operate. Ben replies that a man named Wilson will help them, but Gus is skeptical that he will come in person since he often sends messages. Gus suggests that Wilson must own every building where they carry out murders because no neighbors have ever noticed them. Ben replies that Wilson rents out the properties. Gus seems distraught over their last victim, a girl whose murder was messy.

A sudden sound comes from the wall. Investigating it, the men find a dumb waiter with a piece of paper inside. He reads aloud its message, which is a list of food. The dumb waiter retracts upwards to another floor. Ben rationalizes the event, stating that the building once contained a cafe and kitchen. The dumb waiter returns with another food order, perturbing the men. Ben decides to pile all of their food on a plate and send it up. The dumb waiter returns with a demand for “high class” food. They continue squabbling about whether their job is worth it and whether Wilson is a good boss. They send the dumb waiter up several more times, but it returns with demands for food they do not have.

Noticing a tube that can transmit voice messages to the cafe, Gus shouts that they have no food. Meanwhile, Ben verbally rehearses the impending murder. They must first point their guns at their target and back him or her into the corner. Gus leaves for the bathroom and returns with no audible sound of the toilet flushing. He tries to force Ben to tell him who is upstairs, saying he is no longer willing to play around. Ben strikes Gus on the shoulder, and then another order comes on the dumb waiter. They fight once more, and then fall silent. Ben returns to his newspaper and the dumb waiter retreats upstairs. It returns, but they ignore it; Gus leaves through the door to retrieve water. The intercom suddenly sounds, and Ben walks to it to listen in. He calls for Gus, who is still away, then shouts that it is time for them to carry out their mission. Ben points his gun steadily at the door. When Gus opens the door and walks through, he is missing his gun and is stripped of most of his clothes. They stare at each other as if suspended in time. The play does not offer clues as to why Ben turned on his partner, making their whole line of work seem a pointless caricature of secrecy and strategy.