by John Arden
First published 2009
This collection brings together five landmark British plays from the 1960s that challenged theatrical conventions and social norms. Arnold Wesker's Roots follows Beatie Bryant as she returns to her Norfolk farming family, carrying stories of her absent boyfriend Ronnie and struggling to bridge two worlds. John Arden's Serjeant Musgrave's Dance takes readers to a Victorian mining town where soldiers back from colonial warfare face a moral reckoning when asked to keep peace among striking workers. Joe Orton's Loot transforms crime fiction into sharp social satire, dismantling British respectability through dark comedy. Edward Bond reimagines Queen Victoria's era in Early Morning, where political conspiracy threatens the throne. Peter Barnes explores aristocratic decay in The Ruling Class when the 14th Earl's suicide leaves his estate to a mentally ill Franciscan friar convinced he is Jesus Christ. These works emerged from playwrights who rose to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, each offering iconoclastic perspectives on British society, class, authority, and moral hypocrisy through bold theatrical innovation.
Genres: drama, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: iconoclastic, social-commentary
Setting: Britain, Norfolk, Victorian England
Period: 1960s
531 pages · Paperback · Methuen Drama