The Birthday Party

by

Harold Pinter

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Birthday Party makes teaching easy.

The Birthday Party Characters

Stanley Webber

A man who has been living for the past year in Meg and Petey Boles’s boarding house. Stanley is reclusive and unkempt, wearing filthy old pants and a pajama top. If Meg didn’t go… read analysis of Stanley Webber

Meg Boles

Along with her husband, Petey, Meg is one of proprietors of the boarding house in which Stanley lives. What Meg lacks in intelligence, she tries to make up for in fastidiousness, constantly trying to… read analysis of Meg Boles

Petey Boles

Meg’s husband, and the co-proprietor of the boarding house in which Stanley lives. Petey is an affable man whose presence is rather minor in his own home, since he spends most of his time… read analysis of Petey Boles

Goldberg

A charming, swift-talking man who arrives at Meg and Petey’s boarding house with his associate, McCann, with the intention of locating Stanley Webber. Goldberg introduces himself as Nat, but he frequently refers… read analysis of Goldberg

McCann

Goldberg’s associate. An Irishman who takes orders from Goldberg, McCann doesn’t know why he has been assigned to locate Stanley Webber and remove him from Meg and Petey’s boarding house. Nonetheless, he carries… read analysis of McCann
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Lulu

A young woman who visits Meg and Petey’s boarding house. Before McCann and Goldberg arrive, she tells Stanley that he ought to go outside for some air, prompting him to invite her to run… read analysis of Lulu

Monty

A man who never appears in the play. In conversation with Petey in the final act, Goldberg tells Petey that he and McCann will take Stanley to see Monty, who he leads Petey to believe… read analysis of Monty