Look Back in Anger (Penguin Plays)

Rating:
Summary: Just OK
Review: "Look Back in Anger" is about a young man, Jimmy, a working-class stiff/passionate philosopher. Jimmy treats his wife and best friend, Cliff, terribly, and in real life he would be insufferable, but on paper (and on stage, I'm sure) he's pretty engaging. His dialogue was well-written, but when it came to the other characters, author John Osborne has a real tin ear. Here's a young woman, Helena, advising Jimmy's wife to get out of the marriage:

"Alison, listen to me. You've got to make up your mind what you're going to do. You're going to have a baby, and you have a new responsibility. Before, it was different--there was only yourself at stake. But you can't go on living in this way any longer."

Perhaps this would sound convincing in the hands of a skilled actress, but on paper it reads like a bad translation. The play is full of excerpts like this--Osborne is also one of those writers who clumsily inserts exposition into the mouths of his characters, often.

The play is best and most shocking when Jimmy's brutality is on full display. I'm sure some readers see him as a romantic character, and this idealization may account for the play's acclaim. It is not bad, but I think it's overrated.

Rating:
Summary: A Great play
Review: This book is great. Jimmy Porter is a very complex character. By the end of the first act you will still be asking why his wife would want to be with him. Sensational!

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest!
Review: This play is one of the greatest of the 1900's. I've worked with the play for about three years (both as an actor and director) and I never get tired of it. Although Jimmy is a very difficult role, it is very rewarding to work with him and the other characters. It has actually changed my life! For the better!

Rating:
Summary: Be prepared for an onslaught of cynicism
Review: You'll never meet a more unique character than Jimmy Porter, a 20-something British Archie Bunker. He's filled with rage at the absence of ... something ... and spews forth venom, sarcasm and utter misery relentlessly. Sounds horrible, right? Well, it's fascinating. I couldn't put it down, and I'd like to see the current revival of the play in NYC. I've seen a few people like Jimmy Porter, people who have so much potential, energy and creativity, yet for one reason or another it's all squandered. They fail to surround themselves with people of equal passion, and the result is that they hurt the ones around them, who are more at peace with themselves. The question is, how does someone so young get this way?