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
- Book
- John Osborne
- 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
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
Songs
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
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
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Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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