The Theatre of Anger andJohn Osborne (1929-1994)John Osborne

The 1950s: the upheavalof traditional

values

Post-wardrama

The theatre of Anger

J. Osborne’sLook Back in

Anger

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

1. The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

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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.

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

2. The 1950s

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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.

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

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2. The 1950s

• 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:

1. The theatre of the «Absurd» expressed metaphysical anguish, rootlessness, the lack of purpose and inaction.

2. The theatre of «Anger» criticised establishment values.

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

3. Post-war drama

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• 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

Main features:

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

4. The theatre of Anger

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Main works:

• Look Back in Anger (1956)

• The Entertainer (1957)

• Luther (1961)

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

5. John Osborne (1929-1994)

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John Osborne

Main works:

• Inadmissible Evidence (1964)

• West of Suez (1971)

• Déjà Vu (1992, with the same

characters of Look Back in Anger)

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

5. John Osborne (1929-1994)

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John Osborne

• 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

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

6. Look back in Anger

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• 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.

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

6. Look back in Anger

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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Jimmy expresses anger and contempt

towards:

• the past

• his wife’s not being angry and her lack

of interest

• the whole establishment

• everyone and everythingRichard Burton as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger, a 1958 film directed by Tony Richardson

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

7. Look back in Anger: Jimmy Porter

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The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

• 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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7. Look back in Anger: Jimmy Porter

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

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

8. Look back in Anger: themes and language

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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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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

The Theatre of Anger and John Osborne

9. Beckett vs. Osborne

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