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Overview

Synopsis

Look Back in Anger is a searing, jolting look at class, sex, politics, and the stifling conventions of 1950s England, all lamented by voices of the angry, alienated youth living at its margins. The champion of the angry young men is Jimmy Porter: proud, educated, lower-class, and volatile. He lives in a one-bedroom flat with his wife, Alison. Alison represents all that Jimmy stands against; she is upper-class, privileged, and detached. There exists a passion between the two that neither can live with nor without. It is left to their roommate, Cliff, an affable young Welshman, to keep some peace within the household. Into this time bomb walks the affluent, upright Helena Charles, an old friend of Alison’s, from her former life. As the four fight each other, fall in and out of love, and release their pent-up rage towards the outside world, the audience receives a glimpse into playwright John Osborne’s frustrated, class-choked world. “The injustice of it is almost perfect!” Jimmy laments. “The wrong people going hungry, the wrong people being loved, the wrong people dying!”

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
3
First Produced
1956
Genres
Drama
Settings
Unit/Single Set, Period
Time & Place
the porters’ one-room flat in the midlands of england. the present (1956).
Cast Size
small
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult Characters

Context


Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Alison Porter

Lead

Female

Spoken

Cliff Lewis

Lead

Male

Spoken

Helena Charles

Lead

Female

Spoken

Jimmy Porter

Lead

Male

Spoken

Colonel Redfern

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

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Videos

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Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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