Episode 087: Look Back in Anger by John Osborne

Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Dan Rebellato and Atri Banerjee

Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing.

John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger is one of the landmark plays of twentieth century British theatre. It’s raging protagonist, Jimmy Porter, represented a generation of disaffected youth, and its proletarian setting heralded a new style of ‘kitchen sink drama’. But how well has Jimmy’s abusive anger aged?

I’m delighted to welcome two experts to help us address this question, and many more: Dan Rebellato, the author of 1956 and All That: The Making of Modern British Drama, and, Atri Banerjee, the director of the first revival of the play in London for 25 years, currently running at the Almeida Theatre.