1. The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne (1929-1994)

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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
1. The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
The 1950s:
the upheaval
of traditional
values
Post-war
drama
The theatre
of Anger
J. Osborne’s
Look Back in
Anger
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
2. The 1950s
This decade was characterised by:
The destruction of the certainties and basic assumptions of the Victorian Age, swept away by two World Wars.
The decline of religious belief.
The mistrust in rationalism as a means to explain reality.
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
2. The 1950s
This decade was characterised by:
The disillusionment with socialist ideals, brought about by totalitarianism.
The materialism and consumerism of contemporary society.
The cultural and moral independence of the young from their elders.
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
3. Post-war drama
Modern drama  inadequate to express the social revolution and changing values of Britain in the 1950s.
The attempt to overcome apathy  caused a real revolution in British drama.
There were two main trends in the 1950s drama:
The theatre of the «Absurd»  expressed metaphysical anguish, rootlessness, the lack of purpose and inaction.
The theatre of «Anger»  criticised establishment values.
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
4. The theatre of Anger
Main features:
use of a realistic setting
logical, easy-to-follow plot
outspoken language
presence of a thoughtful working-class hero, like the rebel Jimmy Porter
open criticism of establishment values
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5. John Osborne ( )
Main works:
Look Back in Anger (1956)
The Entertainer (1957)
Luther (1961)
John Osborne
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
5. John Osborne ( )
Main works:
Inadmissible Evidence (1964)
West of Suez (1971)
Déjà Vu (1992, with the same characters of Look Back in Anger)
John Osborne
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6. Look back in Anger
Structure: three-act conventional play, with a circular plot.
Setting: a squalid attic flat in the Midland.
Time: the play opens on a tedious Sunday afternoon.
Kenneth Branagh as Jimmy Porter and Emma Thompson as Alison in Look Back in Anger, a 1989 film directed by Judi Dench
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
6. Look back in Anger
Characters: Jimmy Porter, an angry young man with a college education and a dead-end job; his wife Alison, an upper-middle class woman; Cliff, Jimmy’s business partner, a working-class uneducated man.
Kenneth Branagh as Jimmy Porter and Emma Thompson as Alison in Look Back in Anger, a 1989 film directed by Judi Dench
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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
7. Look back in Anger: Jimmy Porter
Jimmy expresses anger and contempt towards:
the past
his wife’s not being angry and her lack of interest
the whole establishment
everyone and everything
Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger, a 1958 film directed by Tony Richardson
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7. Look back in Anger: Jimmy Porter
He is an anti-hero  he only speaks but never acts.
He has established a love-hate relationship with his wife  he wants to possess her but at the same time he tries to destroy their relationship.
Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger, a 1958 film directed by Tony Richardson
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13. 8. Look back in Anger: themes and language
The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
8. Look back in Anger: themes and language
The leitmotivs of the play:
the discontent and social alienation of certain sections of British society in the 1950s
the pain of being alive
the study of existential failure
Look Back in Anger, a 2009 Northern Stage performance
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14. 8. Look back in Anger: themes and language
The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne
8. Look back in Anger: themes and language
The language is:
revolutionary, crude and violent
spontaneous and vital
full of colloquialisms and slang expressions
Look Back in Anger, a 2009 Northern Stage performance
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9. Beckett vs. Osborne
Beckett
Osborne
Plot
Obscure, non consequential
True-to-life, consequential
Setting
Symbolic, bare
Realistic, related to working class
Theme
Meaninglessness of human experience
Social critic against middle-class values
Stage Directions
Repetitive, frequent
Detailed, informative, clear
Language
Everyday, meaningless
Everyday, simple, clear
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