A sete of Gog Br Sh Peper, Chapter Fourteen Twentieth-century drama In sheworkotimany wentiet-century Engin dramatists posible to see not only the product af the individual writer’ ide snd experience, but a several general tendencie, This does not mean thatthe writers are members ofa group bt hat they share enh belie and concen for ther work to have eral important wing in ‘One of these lose roping lates to the stemp to show onstage some pars ofthe daily Ives f ordinary peopl saa realistic way that ‘ten contains sal and pital eric Thieeype of pay has history at Teas ald asthe century: the plays oon GALS WORTHY, for ‘ample, which share the forms of the tadonal wellmade ply, combine desertion of social and political evs with ret sympathy fir the prople who hopekesly and Belpely safer them. In Seif go} he shows the progres of she caused by bse refs to change their demand which settled on exactly the same terms as were sggested at the begining but which has eased huge Saering and hardship to the strikers families, Ty Jae 90) he shows telat ofan who in despairing tempo scape fom the Inseriesofhis ie writer afi signature on acre adhe the est of his ie ruined by the tice’ f thw in powers at lat, in despa, he “ls himel {GEORGE AERXARD Slaw was born in Leeland but spent moet of his long adult ie in England. An important am of his many plays was to Face his audiences with completly new pots of view and ways oflooking at themseves and the society they lived in. He enjoyed the shock and afence ths alten produced, particularly when his ideas twee expend with mic wt, He delighted in saying and showing the oppniteot wha his audiences expected: Arms ade Max (1858, fer example, prevents a 4 sinpathei igute a soe eho doen't want to fight, and in The Dr's Dip agor) the man whom Cnventonal vce has taught ofa eil and selfish i wii £0 ‘serie himself others, while the minister of eligin covers that heshould have heen slice ‘Several of Shaw’ plays show in various ways the working of his theory of the-ife Fore the power tha ives people avai as ‘reat gt and fight for beter world, and that leads women, in paral, to want to have chien ao that Ue can be continued in them, The main character in Men and Speman (1), which hows ‘he morking this theory mos clearly, say tha a womans real sim in Te to fi the man that acute tel er the ight father for her ‘hilden, The same theory influenced Cuca and left (1901) a rhc ulus Caesar represents man a high pot of his neler “development, and Cleopatra represents untamed nara pansion Te ‘aaho beseenin Majo Baar (e995, when the heroine, worat of Strong personality and ideals, exchange her belic'in Chistian for ‘hain the Lie Free ‘Shaw dd not elev in Christianity anyother organized reigon ims, and Sait Joo (924), one a is beseown play, presents ‘hc esne ae a tongeminded woman of great energy and courage who ype much ofthe Life Force within era who sopponed al at Tne killed bythe traditional powers of Church nd Sate, to whom she fd becomes threat “gmat (1912) particularly wellknown cause jt was the basis foe the musial play andl film My Fair Lady. thi ory of the poe! who ake flower ler om the London tree and makes ber intoa grandad, ti behavourand not waysot talking that realy stows the difeences between the characters. For Elia the Bower seller, the mt important thing in hurasrelationsips is that people SRR Neat eae tpt eh intended 0 careabout each other for Pofsor Higgins the most important thing ‘that they help each other to improve emacs. At inhi many tater plays, Shaw delights in shoseing opposing ata ia bar and ‘it language tht often urn upide don te accepted opinion of his tine, ‘The prefice" to his plays, which dtewss ther aubjets and themes at greater eng, as well as many oe books show the wide ‘extent of his interet ane cancer om pal, cial and religions Subjects a well ay the language in which they are exprse ‘The work of eaN O'¢ASEY, like Galworth’s, shes cancer fir imocent itis although the evn that shape te ve Casey's characters are moe cleasy poll. O'Casey ws an Irina, an his hota plays are st inthe tne of great evens in rand caver this century, bu the events are away see fom dhe point of ew oftheeednary prope, Thr Shed of Geman (1943) se atthe time of the lsh War of Independence, ht events ar shown a hey allecthelies ofthe ordinary pnp, who ler mos fom he play isweten with hunoue as wel a great sympathy fr tel aueinge Jus and the Paeck (1924) ns the sh Ci Wa, bu the chi inet isin the main characters: uno, a Din ose tying to hol her fay together agaist heres that are eying to deseo I lack armoney, a weak drunken hisband a daughter who deste by he father of her child and a ao already wend wo taken aeay at he end ofthe play to Besta py). Th lag end he Sts a6) deals with the Teh rising again! the Brit in 36, For (O'Cazey te alwayethe women ho ur most om the elites of war while theme ak and deat ad ey to be heroes The play gs much fits le andenery fom the language oPhivcharacter, wi ate native to Dublin although thei elinge are univers si Jun lament fr her dead so What was the pin I fred, Johny, binging you nt the sword to carry you to your cradle the pein TU ser Carrying you out ofthe word to bigg you ta your grave! Mother of Ged, hae pty on ural and ake away creat stone and giveushearsofish! Take away the murdring hate {nd give ut your awn eternal lve! Sei mimic eck ih eanAnother lish writer, J. SYNGE, was alo concerned with deseribing thelives ordinary people as they relly were, bt the group of people Ihe chow to write about war a sprial one the people of the Aran ands ff the west coast of Ireland, which Synge visited often, His Ich play, The Ply of th Wistar Wal (29) cane Fight ing the heatze whe twat performed in Dublin. The people of smal village admires young stranger when heels how he ile his uel ater, ut turn again hi hen his father omen search of im (saving that hs son's bow omy made hin fin). Te sows the snument when 00 wil longer accept hie fathers power ser hi, find doco with reat delight fa language and hunour chat gives a Urey picture ofthe fe ofthe people it describe {AMNOLD WISKEA is alo concerned to show the reales of everyday lier ordinary people tat witha learer noe of cial erin, The Kitcn g)shows the itchen of large restaurant and the people ‘wo work ni The play's eal concern snot how what they din {he kitchen so much as wehat he kitten dost theme ll places of ‘ass production in Weaker's eyes it mabe them le dhan hurt. isthe plays Chicn Sap ith Baty (0050) Ret (195), and om Talking ata Jeraln (0) show the ve member thee fom Water Res, 159 fal rom the rg tothe 105 The fist pay shows working-las Jew fil, the Kahos of London, andthe way pail and aca tes ates thei ideals: bythe end al but the moter have been ‘made bitter and efi bythe workin which they lie: Rots hows the ‘eco he son ofthe Kab ail onthe woman Be plat marry, ‘who comes fom the country. She har rete her fanilys naraw way flaking life but snot abe tofnd away for elf wl he endo the ply, when the shock of veeivng hi eter tling her tht he nll notiarey he fier all suddenly els he ogi areal understanding fothenef and coafidenc that se cam expres her own ideas. The as pay of ee three shows two members uf the Kahn family who eave London or the country olive a simple if elowingtraitonal ways inthe end their atenp ails, but they are deterninel ogo on tying to mabe fr chemo he sr oie they want oles. Chip set Een (2982 shows he Brith clas system at work in the Air Force A ich man's son wishes to be nly a ordinary airman inmteadofanoffceras part ofhispersoal ight agin hse rather than a fight again the clas system He, Uke ba father, realy wate power, anda the end of Ue play aller encouraging the other airmen tosartaevoliten gaint the class sstern which achiers neh he return to hisown cls and agecs o become an alice, ‘Wesker aterplays including ho Fey Onn and Gale iy, 196, and The rind, 1970) moved farther away from a realise repens tation of rea is Their common theme fe the lonportanc fr in Avia ofavoiding the premures created by the cet in which they lve and of finding thir own standards fight and wrong "HIVOR OMFS a deeply terested in sci tees, but his plays make elearer pola! statements than do Wesker’ The Pet 1973) Make a play on words wih ees ite set at party for ‘members of Soiali® and Commons” pola pate. ft males a biter comparion beeween the comfrtable lie Of the idl-ciae intellectual scat who alk about the revelation bu wil do nothing fori and av lder man wha has teed to ve his ie according toh polices and has satficed everything Gr them, FRR hee whmedion (1575) shows six stents a ight-clas or comedians, and explores the emerson between comedy and morality. eal ‘explores te purpose of comedy, o fee people fom Tear by making them aught the thing they are afraid and oencorage thers og ‘out and do something to change de situation that prdced the at: EowakD Dis lens concerned withthe daly deals people ives sd more with dhe res fright al ern tha they have made For themselves His plays ave om aoe sale, with the theme thatthe ‘world and therfore ace) badly organized al must be changed. Tris plays man'sseledestrctvenes sates made clear in is olen Naa Read the Dp Nor 98), etn ancient Japan, showshow atuaby lft odie becomes cruel uly and ask whether the oct ho save the child and dit nothing i responsible for al he pain and suiring that the ruler caused The play ab considers the elt of ‘colonia, both on thowe who rule and those wo are eed Lear (1971) x Bond’ account of Shakespeare's aged King Lear Which Lear good! daughter, Cordelia, made el and docs by Achieving the power she set ant to dexry. Binge (1974) shows Shakespear himself a ill and dying man, returned to his home in the county aller issuers in London. Thera oer comparison becwcen Shakespeare the great artist and Shakespearethe mar, whois 2 ulure ar husband and a father and agres to acors by the ‘tuthoritis that wll aren the ordinary people The Frl (1975) nao about the ie ofa English poet its based on thestory of Jota Clare poet inthe ighteenth century who was Rept inprison asa madman for many years The ply explores the myste- ‘oa reladonship between pin ofthe mind and heart, and rue poetic Won, Thisisa theme as explored The Waar (1973) in whi the rain character gaits new knowledge and understanding through fret pain and auerng, Bon’ world ifn cruel and ite Although there are touches of humour, but many things tae hae happened inthe twentieth century are cru! and bitter, and Bond's wor ie nat othe other dramatie, can besa to elect the world in which weal ive ena eon ne ps Se Bh A second ara ofconcern intwenteth-cetary English dra is tht the individual's earch fr identity! in an untendly outs word and the dificult and fear of eormmuniating with other individuals, A Tamous example af this i the work of SAMUEL RECKET, who was Born in Treland tt has spent mont of hia in France and hat writen many of his works ia French before translating thet nto English, Aa young man he was fen of James Joyce ep. 148) and ke his cated by words; but ule Joyce he sees angie 25 building a wall between human beings which stops them son sunicting. His play Waite for Godt (1954) i one 0 the ost inet works tn English writen tis century. Ht takes avy the surface dea rom dhe situations se preente and shows tir real atureinthe wordsofone ert it esrb the cance of the man nation’, The play show two tramps" Vadim and Estagon, ar waiting forthe arrival othe mysterious Godot to gve thei livessome purpose and ection, Bu Gadot ds ot cone, and may rot even exist. The play shows the pin and en ax well as the be the two men a they despairing tr toute reason and argument 0 cp them in situation where ean i not enugh, Of the two,rag i move detec that dey should wait for Godot x they fave Been ol odo iabounk: What areyou suggesting? That we've come tothe stasoos: Hesbould be here ‘anne: He da’ ny for sure he'd come, sTRAooN: Andie dee come? ‘eanovtk: Wel come back omoeros! tstaacon: And then the dy ler tomorrow ‘ean: | Posy Isttagox And on ‘ance: The ptt tstaacox: Until he comes. ‘uaninik: You're mercies Endgame (195) ao shows characters ina closed station whieh they ‘omtnualy igh sais Asin Wag or Gad, the surface detalsare tate the Bare ccna it setin no parte place, at no particular time, and the characters play games with words which dey intend tony toast the time but whieh take on a meaning they had not thought of: King's Last ape (4950) has only ome character, an old ‘man siting in coud oom mith tape recorder, paying the tapes he thade at eaier points hit Bf and eflectiog on the thoughts and impresions he had tad asa younger man and the difeence in his thought ad flings ow In Hap Day (30) the main characteris suman, Winnie The characters in Becket’ cakes plays were aspiring and lst, ighting against the mptines ofthe lve and thetrleserhope Winnieis signed to her fat with a checfolnes dat is almost more fightening than ther dexpaiThe tile ofthe play hl biter humour shes determined tobe happy because se will tot face the terrible things that are happening to her Hee defence i that she wil taller to are apd fr thi reason, tishas been ‘decribed as Beckett's mnt despaiing lay Tecketts interested in howe characters who refuse not nly love but ny eal elaiosip with anyone ele: they ate lst and unhappy. and Ihave only the pleasure of language Ie Becket’ language very Carell used, nd there mch more humou in is plays than the A pain of Hal P's Th Caer in 180 thir hemes night suggest The plays of waxoup ersten alo have as central heme the imporsblty of communication between characters che site atin, although inhi early plays the loved seuation soften orn ‘hase comfort andl aft i compared withthe danger ofthe world dnd he strangers tide The Birdy Pty 1957) presents the ewe, comfortable station of smal ealging-howse and the eect of th arevalo wo msterios Strangers who have comet elle’ one ofthe peopl ving there The Fecling of dangers made sronger both by the suggestions of volence and he at hat the reason ey thetrangershave come toc im ‘sever filly explained. The Carer (1960) also presents 4 else ‘Station wn brothers ina house} and the arrival stranger an old ttump)y a inthis case Ht the stranger who i tbe victim. The suspicions increaie as he uicetanty grows he reasons between the character change, bt in pte of sme touches of humour ie he feme of empties of the character Uves thats probably thestongest impresion fet bythe py In The Horcomag (16 te dager comes fom inside the home tnd the viet again cme from gute, although this time be a ‘member ofthe fail ne of the sons return rn America with his Writead ater threat inkenc, nthe end les is ito the et of Tisai Mans and (1975) sows the meeting of two old menwho had now each other when they were youngioneis no rch and seca, while the other in many ways ile Ina ems they ae enemies, although on the srlce they’ meets fiends, and thete i slvaysa feling of danger between them. No ma’ an means an pty pies of land between two enemies or diferent countie) I tome ways i the eh and eee man eho the eal are Breau his ert ei iving nthe wo ma’ an of ings ad no tope In Pte’ work, a in Beckett's work, its mot only the words that ares that areimporant the silences andthe word which are not ‘Sire alo important, Pinter has si that there ave two srt of Slence~one where na word spoken andthe other where 2 Hood of lamuage ia being used ~and bis plays reflee the dificly commu «tion between peopl that thi statement sugges, A third general grouping in modern English drama can be seen in ‘howe play in eich language i not ny the means by which the characte elings and tlic areenprewe but an important part of the playin its own eight particularly when tt ws omic lett contrat with the seriousness ofthe theme beneath ‘OSCARWILDE' pli were sending example thistype of drama at theend ofthe nineteenth century and his work has had great ct ‘which The Inport of Being Barvet 1895 the mot fous, are carted along bye wit language, eich les gains it cami let by reversing ‘ompletely whats usual or expected, Cecily for example, hopes that Algernon (cho has jun told her he love er) har not been lang 3 ‘outlet and pretending tobe wicked when he was really god all the Sime: she would be very disappointed ihe were Wot wicked afterall Algernon himself can alo revere the conventional way of ooking at ck: Thats the whole uth, pare and simple auoeason: The tru is rary, pure and never simple Mevern fe would every tedious if wer fither, and modern Uterature a complet imposaiy nix world in which the appearance of things and people and thee reality are always i conta with each other, and thew sarpriing Contrasts ae expreed in language of great wit and balance. Very ‘tenn Wilde's work, the manner in which idea ate exprsed seems ‘more important ha their mater “The play of 8 ORTON may ern in a dient word rom that Wildes: Orton's are sein the 1960 hse ‘mide clas contrast a Wildes lies nd gentlemen, and shere are Wiolent evens in Orton's play Extaing Mr Son, ot, Heber are ree ee a slecomesfrom theconrat-the vide gap- between appearance and fealty, The shoking evento splays andthe velnce and reed fis characters are decribed in pole adylike language. Wilde's tharaters hamever knew how clever and witty they were; Orton's do fotundertand how aughable they are Tn Ft, he deere Tren ‘il othe importance which the arity af hsb gives by, and demands that everything be don scoring othe rales wen one of the other character asa for permion to get a potograpl that may {Fre wel information, Truscott makes condo: ravi Gant he fete the photo? avscore Only i some spore person6 nau: You're a responsible person, You could accom pny it rmurcorr: What proof have T got that Fun responsible peson?| Drywts: you weren’ responsible you woulda be gv the pomer to behave as you do, Another write for whom the wseo ngage af enormous import ate inthe the reatoabip between appearance an reality is TOM roves, who use play on words to explore aswell expres idea bootie and det ight and wrong, and the natore of mam ard the Swot, Renant nd Guiles are Dd (2986) puts the ceive of {he play two airport characters om Ham We ce the charac tersin Stoppard’ play atthe moment that they have lf the tage in Hani, and they lave Stoppard’ stage to return to Shakespear's play. The women play gues ops the ine and wonder what wil happen next aad what thir fat wil be (hich we in the audience now already fom Mamie). Stoppard plays with the meaning and sound of word, and ao explrer the gap Between words and the meanings to diferent people, between what is sad and what i intended epers(1972) weaves together the story ofa pileophes™ whois marred an acten wit the hurt fora urderer. Stoppard cleverly ‘es the ably of the theatre to present contrasting ideas, ot only "through dierent charactersbut inthe gaplitweenthelrdeserption of ‘station and what we know of the stuaton by ether means Trae (1574) uses The Inpro Being Bae sits staring points some of the characters ae the sme and ao are many ofthe Femarks andthe evens which happen. Tes set in Zari in 1917, and shows thee diferent types of revoktionary®~ Lenin (in pits) James Joyce (in erate); and Tristan ‘Teara (i at) all cen through the ejes ofan unimportant oficial atthe Brith Consulate ioe ne td eaten ay mts perm who i hing sn rn cage fe Tc itl aig aie oe oan gene in Stoppard presents cach of the three revoitionares in arm, and shows us rvens fom the thre dierent point of view. Then he reminds us that eveything is beng een through the memory ofan old man teho may noe remember correty ap thatthe comtast beta the ‘vent that are shown on tage and what really happened ~ between sppearance an realty ~ i mad sear. The play alo comer the ratureafart athe part tobe played by an ast in society, especialy inchanging society. Atthe end of the play the cial, whois non over ‘dghty year old reece om hate bas learned "earned thre thing in Zach rng the war. I wrote them own. Fil you're ether a revolutionary or you're nt, and Ityourte not you might as well be an artista anything ele end f you cat be am arti, yuu might a2 well be a revolutionary. forge the third thing, Some crits have suggested that Stoppard enjoys the comic surface of his plays sn mach that he doesnot ger enough tention tthe human Felis ad concerns benenth, This isnot tre even iia pays the bass of Raman and Gulden ve Dead fr example, ithe understanding hae heat that their deaths materi to Hamlet Iesomething that should have mattered w Shakespear. Hislatr pays show an even clearer and stonger human concern. Hie Goo Bey Deyror Paar 1977), with a equally comic sure has tain ‘characters Runa pola prisoner whom the authorities ateattempt ing to prove mad, so that Stoppard uses the contrasts betwen Appearance and realty here both fe comic eect and alo with a Serius parse English rama inthe twentieth century hasten oer attempts at new forms, One f thera intresting was that of. 8 LOT, who wae beter known a poet (ep. 7) and whose three plas inves, (Mund inthe Gala, 1935: The Fay Rewin, 1995; The Cai Party, 930) show an attempt to copy in Eg he form ofthe plays lancient Greece and Rome. The Best of thet which deseribr the eens leading tothe muder ofthe English saint Thomas Becket probably the most succes the other tw plays, which both use Sis tken fm ancient Greek tragedy in moder orm, expt thefetings of bitterness an ore which Eliot ses as part of human elaine tay. Throughout the century there Rave een wellowiten plays in the teadtonal le which although they may have serious pure are ‘ein o entrain rather than to explore dep subjects ‘The play of}. x HRESTLEY were very popular when they were fist, performed andarestl preduced day; his best-known pays share an Sntert in the way we understand ime. Tine nd te Comey (1997) ‘moves thetimeof be eventsofthe pla rom the past othe present and ack to the pas again, so that dhe audince can se the characters their presen ation and its contrast wth ther earer hopes and Setetions Ipc Clr (198) shows bow each member of a ‘amily slowly understands that he or aes responsible because gi ‘no Ke them alin diferent way has killed here "Tenens aaicaN is another well-known iter af eraditonal and seem plays, Hi work extend fom light comedy, asin French Wika Ts (3935) to more serous plays such as The Win Bop (ugh) abou the eect om hi family of acoelboy who sacaned a stealing, tthe beginning othe entry, and The Dp Be Se (0953 bout a arried woman whose ver hu eft her and who attempt 0 kilhene JOHN OSBORNE eae fru in 1955 whem hit play Laat Bat Arges presented anew type of her who breame kn asthe angry Sosing man” and had great nflenee on drama writen in the next Few yeas The hero was nein his ight aga the society he vein ane the anger whichis presuresmade him el, bat the play was more teadtonal mfr and approach than relerence "the ew dean at the time might sugges Oxbornes ater plays, incding athe (1964) sul A Patt Br Me{ 1s), aresein very dierent mes and places the fits in Germany i theater century, while he second sin ‘Atria athe beginning of this conury bel havea heir min character a man who cannot ft int the society of his ime and who Fights against Much otis work suggest thatthe word was beter in the pas than itisnow, and Haut I Come Duy (1975), wth it there ofthe yalus of dying world under attack frm the new one, makes ‘this particularly lear reren suru’ plays abo fen have at their centre men whose tis and behaviour make them dierent fromm the people around the. The Roa an of the Se (1g) shows the ate of evilisations| Ietween the native sorety of South America and the Spanish who congueredit though the characters the Inca king (who allo ago to his people) andthe Spanih general they are from two dierent ‘wor of experience andthe world of the Toca king hasbeen coor ‘quced and wil be destoyed by a diferent civilisation, Epa (1973) Stu the battle between 3 boy who has inde some hors he fam where he worked and the pyehiatri whois eyng find out vwhyhe dic The prychistrist comes to understand that his cw ie i pein compari with the boy's, who all as the ability to fel pasion and wostder, and e cones to think thatifhe eure the boy af ‘the ings that led hit o acto cruelly he wl have taken aay rom ‘him the qty that made it He worth Living ALAN AvERROUENs ne ofthe tot succeal writes of comic pay ta takes the tradonal form ofthe milla comely to consider ‘what makes his characters behave a they do fwd Peon Sigal (tors) thragh aca comedy, shows the horror fman bingy who ire completely ed up in themselves and thir social habit while “Aset Friends (1973) shows the thoughtless euelty of members of a Family to eachother. A further consideration of family elationship it sven in his most ambitious work, The Nomar Conc (1974, which [stormed by thee playssetin diferent parsofthesame house with the sme characters the sme ine His plays have mowed fom lighter Canedis (though often with sharp soil satire) wa deeper, more “espiring study ofthe cruelty of opt who ar oo concerned with themieves and the polite rituals oftheir Ives 10 notice the per ‘onal, needs ad hopes of te people around them Televison his played an important part in bringing drama ta such wider science many ofthe writers mentioned here, inluding Gait, Pinter and Stoppard, have writen original work for tev sion andl he stage plays many others have been shown on television {swell Thishas had the eect farang the imerest of people who ‘mightcarler have seldom gone tothe theatre, and, beau elevsion ‘an be a more reali frm than the sage, hat olen afleted the approach ofthe dramatist is materi ptr ih do end