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Writer, actor and director Harold Pinter stars as Sir Thomas Bertram, who is both a civil gentleman and a slave trader.

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Pinter was born in Hackney, East London in 1930, and is today considered one of the most original playwrights of his generation. His plays, characterized by existential glimpses into inexplicable moments of catastrophe or unexpected surprise, include The Birthday Party, The Dumb Waiter, The Lover, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, Old Times, Betrayal and Ashes to Ashes. His mordant sense of humor, unique rhythms of speech and characters struggling for a sense of identity have led to the addition of the word Pinteresque to the English language.

For the cinema, his screenplays include the Academy Award nominated The French Lieutenant's Woman, 'The Servant, The Go-Between, Turtle Diary, The Handmaid's Tale, The Comfort of Strangers, Accident and The Trial. He has adapted his own works The Homecoming, The Caretaker, The Birthday Party and Betrayal" for the screen, earning a second Academy Award nomination for Betrayal.

Pinter's numerous productions as director for the stage include The Man in the Glass Booth, The Next of Kin, Blithe Spirit, Sweet Bird of Youth, Oleanna and Twelve Angry Men. He has directed his own works The Collection (with Peter Hall), The Lover and The Birthday Party in addition to the first Royal Court production and the Italian and French premieres of Ashes to Ashes. MANSFIELD PARK star Lindsay Duncan appeared in Ashes to Ashes both in London and New York.

As a stage actor, he has appeared in Old Times with Liv Ullman and Nicola Pagett, The Birthday Party and No Man's Land at the Almeida Theatre. Most recently, he appeared in the BBC television production of Breaking the Code and on stage in The Collection, both at the Gate Theatre in Dublin as part of their 1997 Pinter Festival and at London's Donmar Warehouse. On screen he appeared in Jez Butterworth's 1997 Mojo, Turtle Diary, Accident and The Servant. Among his countless prizes and honorary degrees, Harold Pinter is the recipient of a CBE and a Moliere d'Honneur.