The study examines three translations of Pinter’s The Birthday Party (2013) for the Greek stage. The essence of the comedy of menace is the ominous, threatening feeling in the subtext, while the dialogue is mundane with some humorous moments. The question arises as to how the three Greek versions (1969, 2013, 2016) transfer this “ominous threatening feeling”, in a language—like Greek, which favours positive politeness in interaction (Sifianou in J Pragmat 17:155–173, 1992). Results indicate that the translators adjust aggression and interpersonal dynamics in order to render the violence in the subtext. A questionnaire, addressing 15 English-Greek bilingual postgraduate researchers, examines target reception of these devices. The significance of the study lies in that it shows how pragmatic variables in social interaction are highly significant in establishing communication with a target audience.