When Harold Pinter throws a birthday party, you better think twice before grabbing a piece of cake. For in the world of the Nobel Prize- and Tony-winning playwright, intentions are always veiled, strangers are often sinister, and anything sweet is very suspicious indeed. Take, for example, his masterful black comedy, The Birthday Party. Petey, Meg and their long-time tenant Stanley, a retired pianist, lead a quiet life at a seaside boarding house … until two strangers roll into town. Their presence turns Stanley’s “surprise” birthday celebration into something altogether shocking. Menacing, relevant and very funny, a professional production of The Birthday Party comes to San Diego for the first time since 1967. Richard Baird directs a brilliant new staging for the New Fortune Theatre Company.