I see a LOT of live theater (I live in a major city and am a judge for our local theater awards), and I must confess, I've never understood the accolades for Pinter. He reminds me of John Cleese's classic description of the difference between an American and an Englishman: at dinner, the American says, "Pass the salt," while the Englishman says, "Uh...pardon me, but...ah...if it wouldn't too much bother...could you, uh...perhaps...consider...taking a moment to, ah...pass the, uh...salt...this general direction. Thank you so much!" Sometimes I just want to yell at Pinter's characters, "Oh for God's sake, if you actually have anything interesting to say, would you please spit it out?! I could watch two George Kaufman plays in the time it takes you to say 'Hello!'"
Enjoyed your characterization. My wife and I have also seen several Pinter plays, but I must confess to not knowing his dark side -- that is, what attracted the prize committee.