British Drama in the 60s & 70s: Anger, Counter-Culture & Social Realism
The Angry Young Men of the 1950s
The 1950s saw a new wave of intellectuals, including Kingsley Amis and Alan Sillitoe, who fiercely criticized class distinctions in their works. They believed that the British establishment, encompassing aristocratic families, the Church of England, and elite universities like Oxford and Cambridge, perpetuated these divisions. Their writing conveyed a sense of anger and frustration with the complacency of post-war Britain. The heroes, or often anti-heroes, depicted in their works shared a common trait: an insubordinate and critical attitude towards society.
John Osborne (1929-1994)
Themes:
- Man at war with himself and society.
- The frustration of living without hope in a hypocritical world.
Look Back in Anger (3 Acts)
This play explores a young man’s struggle to confront his personal demons and his disillusionment with the post-war system that failed to meet his expectations. It centers on a married couple, Jimmy and Alison, whose relationship is crumbling. Jimmy, a university graduate, realizes he will never be part of the ruling class he prepared to join. His wife, Alison, comes from an upper-middle-class family. Throughout the play, Jimmy’s anger at the state of things manifests in violent and sometimes darkly comedic tirades against the Establishment. Alison typically avoids confronting him.
Themes:
- Corruption of the State
- Social Alienation
Embodiments:
- Alison: Represents the class system, a product of her Establishment upbringing.
- Helena: Alison’s counterpart, represents beauty and immorality; Jim’s lover.
- Jim: Ironically embodies the very social malaise he attacks – the meaningless codes and customs of his world.
Arnold Wesker (1932-)
Born into a Jewish family, Wesker often features Jewish protagonists in his works. Considered a social realist, he portrays the social, cultural, and political beliefs of his characters from a working-class perspective. His plays, often drawn from his own life and social environment, are frequently categorized as “kitchen-sink dramas” due to their focus on working-class concerns.
Key Concerns:
- Class conflict
- Isolation of the individual from their community in an increasingly capitalist society
- Disillusionment with the socialist movement’s failure to deliver expected social change
Wesker believed democratization was crucial to empower the working class and eradicate poverty. His plays featured working-class accents and attitudes that contrasted sharply with the refined, upper-class characters who had previously dominated British theatre.
Themes:
From the 1970s onward, his plays shifted focus towards humanist issues and moral dilemmas, moving away from strict social realism.
Roots (1959)
Part of Wesker’s Trilogy, Roots is highly didactic, warning against the manipulative power of mass culture over the lower classes.
Harold Pinter (1930-) – Power Plays and the “Comedy of Menace”: The Dumb Waiter (1957)
Popular Plays:
- The Birthday Party (1958)
- The Caretaker (1960)
- The Homecoming (1965)
From the 1990s onward, Pinter’s plays became increasingly politically charged. Opposing viewpoints are a hallmark of his work, possibly influenced by his contrasting family backgrounds (his mother’s family had ties to criminal activities, while his father’s side was immersed in the arts).
The recurring themes of entrapment and claustrophobia in his plays, often set in prison-like rooms, may stem from Pinter’s childhood experience of being separated from his parents during wartime. The impact of the Holocaust on Pinter, who was Jewish, remains unclear, but the theme of motiveless persecution in many of his plays likely reflects this historical trauma.
Influence of Samuel Beckett:
Plays like The Room, The Dumb Waiter, and The Birthday Party reveal the influence of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1952). Pinter’s sparse dialogue echoes Beckett’s use of repetition and pauses. However, while Beckett’s silences often represent the alienation of characters in a monotonous and meaningless modern world, Pinter’s silences are menacing and often foreshadow violence. This characteristic led to the term “Comedies of Menace” being applied to his works, plays that, according to Martin Esslin, “can be very funny up to the point when the absurdity of the character’s predicament becomes frightening, horrifying, pathetic, tragic.”
Pinter’s Dialogue:
Pinter’s use of pauses is so distinctive that it has been both parodied and celebrated. His dialogue often presents both conscious and unconscious thoughts, maintaining multiple streams of consciousness within a single conversation. He strives for realism, presenting a detailed account of his characters’ experiences and transformations. His plays are filled with unanswered questions, leaving the audience to interpret and draw their own conclusions.
The Dumb Waiter (A “Pinteresque” Play)
The term “Pinteresque” describes a particular atmosphere and environment in drama, characterized by enclosed spaces and unpredictable dialogue. Drama arises from power struggles and the hidden meanings within conversations.
Protagonists:
- Ben: Intimidating and violent, uses silence as a tool of dominance.
- Gus: More submissive and insecure.
Plot:
Ben and Gus, two hired killers, await instructions from Wilson (a theatrical parallel to Godot) for their next “job.” Their conversation is filled with pauses and repetitions. The introduction of a dumb waiter shifts the dialogue, forcing the men to communicate with an unknown entity at the other end of the shaft.
Language and Silence:
The characters are defined by both their language and their silences, as well as the potential subtexts within their interactions. The unspoken elements of Pinter’s work, where the true concerns of the characters lie, are revealed through explosive silences and nuanced vocabulary, rather than explicit actions. Pinter uses ambiguity to compel the audience to form their own interpretations.
Symbols:
- The Dumb Waiter: Represents the unknown, the forces controlling the characters’ lives, and the breakdown of communication.