Osborne, Pinter & Co: Post-War British Theatre

Wednesday 7 February 2018

Giles Ramsay

Giles Ramsay is an independent theatre director and producer, who specialises in creating new work with artists in developing countries. He is the Founding Director of the charity Developing Artists, a Fellow of St Chad’s College, Durham University, and Course Leader in Theatre at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Giles has run theatre projects in Botswana, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Kosovo, Palestine, Mexico, Thailand and Zimbabwe, and has given numerous talks for institutions, ranging from The Foundation for Mexican Literature in Mexico City to The Royal College of Physicians in London. He regularly lectures on the history and practice of theatre on the Queen Mary 2 as it sails from New York to the UK. Giles combines academic analysis with hands on experience to bring a unique insight to the world of the theatre.

Please see Giles’ website for further information.

In 1956 British theatre audiences heard a harsh new voice in John Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger. Within two years Pinter’s extraordinary play The Birthday Party had opened and split the critics and the public alike. Then along came Joe Orton, Edward Bond and Tom Stoppard. A revolution was taking place and its artistic aftermath can be felt to the present day.

Caption: a scene from The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

Suggested Further reading:

• State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945, by Michael Billington
• Anger And After A Guide To New British Drama, by John Russell Taylor
• A Pocket Guide to 20th Century Drama, by Stephen Unwin

The notes for this lecture can be downloaded and printed here

Below are photos of this lecture and our AGM.