British and Irish Political Drama in the Twentieth Century British and Irish Political Drama in the Twentieth Century

BRITISH AND IRISH POLITICAL DRAMA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITISH AND IRISH POLITICAL DRAMA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Implicating the Audience David Ian Rabey The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King. Hamlet I want to bite the hand that feeds me I want to bite that hand so badly I want to make them wish THEY'D NEVER SEEN ME Elvis Costello, 'Radio Radio' ~ MACMILLAN © David Ian Rabey 1906 Some of the material in Chapter 9 appeared in a dilferent form in Critical Qjlllrltrlj•, xxv, 3 (Autumn 1983). Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1986 978-0-333-38707-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1986 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, 8asingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world II 10 9 8 7 6 5 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Rabey, David Ian British and Irish political drama in the twentieth century: implacating the audience. I. Political plays-History and criticism 2. English drama-20th century-History and criticism I. Title 822'.912'09258 PN1643 ISBN 978-1-349-21108-1 ISBN 978-1-349-21106-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-21106-7 Dedicated to Ken & Roma Rahf!Y, my parents, Robert Wilcher and john O'Brien with thanks for their support and encouragement Contents Priface IX Acknowledgements X Introduction SOCIALIST SUPERMEN AND PILGRIMS' PROGRESS 9 Bernard Shaw 2 KATHLEEN NI HOULIHAN'S OTHER ISLAND 28 Bernard Shaw, Sean O'Casey 3 LEARN HOW TO SEE AND NOT TO GAPE 42 Erwin Piscator, Bertolt Brecht 4 THE HIDDEN SITUATION 57 John Galsworthy, C. K. Munro, W. Somerset Maugham, C. Day Lewis, Stephen Spender, W. H. Au den & Christopher Isherwood, J. B. Priestley 5 ANONYMITY AND ANGER 78 John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, Brendan Behan, Tom McGrath & Jimmy Boyle 6 BEYOND 'GOOD' AND 'EVIL' 99 John Arden & Margaretta D'Arcy, Edward Bond 7 HOME TRUTHS AND FOREIGN FREEDOMS 118 Peter Weiss, Trevor Griffiths, Robert Bolt, Tom Stoppard, C. P. Taylor, Christopher Hampton, David Mercer vii Vlll Contents 8 CARTOON NIGHTMARES 134 Heathcote Williams, Trevor Griffiths, Howard Brenton, Howard Barker, Barrie Keeffe 9 EARNING A PLACE IN THE STORY 166 David Hare, David Edgar lO PAST IMPERFECTS AND PRESENT INDICATIVES 188 Brian Friel, Martin Lynch, Peter Whelan, Caryl Churchill, Stephen Poliakoff, Peter Flannery, Nigel Williams CONCLUSIONS 209 Notes 216 Index 233 Preface In writing this book my intention is to examine the interaction of preconceptions, attitudes and consequent dramatic tensions between the audience and the author (via the actors and production team) when a play is presented in a theatre. I do not aim at providing a detailed critical analysis of individual plays although some plays will be considered in more depth than others - but at providing a view of the developing trends and various strategies that British and Irish dramatists have adopted to express political dissatisfaction. I will mainly restrict myself to the analysis of political drama in the legitimate, established theatre. This choice is in no way meant to disparage the work accomplished by the political theatre of fringe groups or touring companies; in their cases, it would probably be difficult to improve upon Catherine Itzin's survey of post-1968 developments, Stages in the Revolution (London, 1980), or Sandy Craig's collection of essays on recent or contemporary alternative theatre, Dreams and Deconstructions (London, 1980). Instead, I will discuss the often paradoxical position of a playwright who seeks to promote his or her views although (or because) they are opposed to the values represented by his or her audience (or even his or her medium), and the most notable attempts of this kind, successful or not, that have been made on the legitimate British and Irish stages in the twentieth century, along with some of the more profound influences upon their development from abroad. D.I.R. lX Acknowledgements The author and publishers wish to thank the following who have kindly given permission for the use of copyright material: The Society of Authors, on behalf of the Bernard Shaw Estate, for the extracts from the plays and prefaces of Shaw; Judy Daish Associates Ltd, for the extracts from the works ofHoward Barker; and Methuen, London and Random House, New York, on behalf ofBertolt Brecht, for the extracts from the plays of Brecht, and to the translators of the plays involved: Eric Bentley (Mother Courage and her Children), Howard Brenton (The Life qf Galileo), Gerhard Nellhaus (In the jungle of Cities, Man equals Man), Ralph Manheim (The Exception and the Rule, The Resistible Rise qf Arturo Ui), Carl R. Mueller (The Measures Taken) and john Willett (Drums in the Night, The Good Person of Szechwan, Mr Puntila and his Man Matti, The M essingkauf Dialogues, Brecht on Theatre) . I would like to pay particular thanks to the following people: Susan MacMillan for her painstaking annotations, Stephen Booth for his moral support, and the friends, staff and students who made my time as a lecturer in English at Trinity College, Dublin, 1982-84, so enjoyably memorable, especially Geraldine Mangan, Christina Bauman, Brendan Kennelly, Terence Brown, Nicholas Grene, the participants in my Brenton and Edgar seminars, and Matthew Campbell, Damien Magee and Declan McCavann for introducing me to the plays of Martin Lynch. I am very grateful to all of the above for their encouragement and advice, though the main debts are recorded in the dedication. D.I.R. X .

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