Ruby Cohn assumes realism to be the dominant mode in English theatre since 1956, the year of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger. She argues, however, that the most provocative plays of the last few decades have departed from realism, and she traces certain patterns of departure, which are familiar in the long tradition of English drama. The patterns, which form the chapters of the book, include the theme of England as dramatic metaphor, modernisations or adaptations of Shakespeare, stage verse, theatre within theatre, explorations of madness, dreams, ghosts, and the re-viewing of history through a contemporary lens. Among the playwrights who avail themselves of these devices are John Arden, Edward Bond, Howard Brenton, Caryl Churchill, David Edgar, Pam Gems, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Peter Nichols, Tom Stoppard, David Storey, Heathcote Williams and Charles Wood. Ruby Cohn writes in a lively and personal way. Her judgements are sometimes controversial and always stimulating. Her book will appeal to teachers and students of English drama, and also to those who are involved in the theatre as viewers or practitioners.
