Royal Court Theatre - Look Back in Anger

This theatre programme is for the play 'Look Back in Anger' by John Osborne at the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square. The play was first produced there in 1956 and this programme relates to a performance in September 1957. 'Look Back in Anger' heralded a new wave of writing for the theatre. Jimmy Porter, the protagonist, came to represent an entire generation of 'angry young men' disenchanted by the post-war era of staid English institutions and limited opportunity. Writers including Osborne, Arnold Wesker and Kingsley Amis, represented a particular group of angry young men.
From 1956, under artistic direction of George Devine, the theatre gained a reputation for staging controversial plays by young playwrights. Devine believed the playwright was the prime creative force within the theatre and he wanted the Royal Court to be a venue where new writing could be promoted.
The production starred Alan Bates and Alan Dobie. Both actors went on to have successful careers on the stage and in film and television.