As in so many other Pinter plays, this one has got a homosexual theme as well. One is introduced to Harry, a well-off middle-aged fashion designer, who lives with his colleague Bill, twenty years his junior. And in this play, Pinter’s unwelcome stranger is their thus far unknown neighbour, James who together with his wife Stella, runs a clothing shop. Seemingly, she has not told her husband about an affair she once had with Bill, at a fashion show in Leeds. So after the acquaintance has been made, James holds this allegation against Bill, even though he has taken a slight fancy to him himself. Evidently, the two couples’ mutual relationship is doomed by mistrust from then on.
