The following paper is a comparative study between the authors John Osborne and Arnold Wesker and their plays.
These two authors of the 20th century, supposed a change for the British culture and specially for the English theatre since they broke with the laws or rules that until then they had established and gave to it a new form to the theatre.
In this way, in the decade of 1968, the calls “wrathful young” began with force in the English theatre. Emphasize John Osborne, Arnold Wesker,..etc., that centered their attention in the hard-working classes, portraying the monotony, the mediocrity and the injustice of their lives.
John Osborne, with his work “Look Back in Anger” changed the face of the English theatre. Until this arrival in the English theatre were represented for the most part melodramas and comedies, but with the arrival of John Osborne and his work emphasized it a new voice in the British stage.
In the work, the main character, Jimmy Porter represents the generation of the “Angry Young Man”, a man that arrest the anger and the rebellious nature of the generation of the post war, he criticizes it all and specially assails against his woman, Alison, Jimmy represents to a man that he never is satisfied with nothing. The work reflects the monotony of the daily life, the characters don’t leave of house and the conversations between them are about aspects that always finish in the argument by motive of Jimmy.
So much John Osborne as Arnold Wesker are resembled, they are centered in aspects of the daily life, they portray the monotony of the hard-working classes of the age, in such a way that in “Look Back in Anger” as well as in “The Kitchen” of Arnold Wesker appears a reflex of the play, of the monotony and of the injustice of the lives of the characters upon appearing making his daily life with boredom and without emphasizing nothing in particular.
In the case of Arnold Wesker reflects the daily life of the cooks of a restaurant particularly, where happened it conversations between their numerous characters. The character that emphasizes is Peter specially, a young cook, that he lost their parents in the war and that he is resembled with Jimmy (Look Back in Anger), both characters represent the rebellious character of the post war, they are aggressive, nervous and vindictive and they happen it the day attempting to collect prominence and assailing against the other.
Wesker hasn’t interested only by the realistic theatre; his dramatic vocation passes with his socialistic ideals in parallel. In collaboration with other authors founded the Centre 42 (1961-1971), a group of theatre financed by the unions to put the culture within of the hard-working class.
In conclusion, they are two authors that changed the trends and the lines of the English theatre of the 20th century and they introduced new models and standards.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Encyclopedia Espasa
- www.uv.es/fores