Pinter's death brings world of plays to a pause

Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, one of the greatest playwrights of his generation, has died. Pinter, who was suffering from cancer, died on Wednesday aged 78.

His second wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, said in a statement: "He was a great (playwright), and it was a privilege to live with him for over 33 years. He will never be forgotten."

Pinter had a number of awards bestowed on him during a long and distinguished career, including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. In its citation, the Nobel academy said Pinter was "generally seen as the foremost representative of British drama in the second half of the 20th century" and declared him to be an author "who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms".