Key Facts

• • Full Title: Look Back in Anger
  • Original Title: Look Back in Anger (no alternate title)
  • Author: John Osborne (1929–1994)
  • Title of the Author: Leading figure of the “Angry Young Men” movement
  • Prize: Evening Standard Drama Award for Most Promising Playwright (1956)
  • Source: Inspired by Osborne’s own failed marriage, personal frustrations, and post-war British class tensions; connected to the “Angry Young Men” and “Kitchen Sink Realism” movements
  • Written Time: Written in 17 days in 1955 while on tour with a repertory theatre company
  • First Performed: 8 May 1956 at the Royal Court Theatre, London
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (first published 1957)
  • Genre: Realist Drama / Kitchen Sink Drama
  • Form: Three-act play
  • Tone: Bitter, passionate, confrontational, ironic, emotionally charged
  • Point of View: Third-person stage directions; Dialogue-driven drama with no narrator
  • Significance: A landmark in post-war British theatre; launched the “Angry Young Men” movement; challenged genteel stage traditions with raw realism, class conflict, and emotional intensity
  • Famous Line: “Why don’t we have a little game? Let’s pretend that we’re human beings…”

• Setting:

• Time Setting: Mid-1950s, post-World War II Britain
• Place Setting: A cramped attic flat in the English Midlands 

Key Notes

• Kitchen Sink Drama: This play is a prime example of “kitchen-sink realism”. It shows lower-middle-class life,  small rooms, financial strain, daily quarrels, and disillusionment.
• Angry Young Man – Jimmy Porter: Jimmy is the symbol of the “Angry Young Men” movement. His anger is directed at social inequality, class privilege, and hypocrisy.
• Class Conflict: The core tension is between working-class and upper-middle-class values. Jimmy and Alison’s relationship embodies this clash.
• Marriage as a Battlefield: Jimmy and Alison’s marriage is a constant emotional battleground. Love mixes with anger, resentment, and hurt.
• Verbal Violence – Monologues: Jimmy’s long, intense monologues are central to the play. They reveal his frustrations, discontent, and personal wounds.
• Symbolic Elements – Bear & Squirrel Game: This game represents Jimmy and Alison’s fantasy world. It means an escape from harsh reality to an ideal world. It is a symbol of their fragile reconciliation.
• Autobiographical Touch: Many aspects reflect Osborne’s own life, such as his failed marriage and experiences of class conflict.
• Post-War Disillusionment: In post-WWII Britain, social and economic change was slow. The frustration and disillusionment of the young generation are voiced through Jimmy.