Second wave

"School" of playwrights working in the 1960s and 1970s, influenced by sociopolitical changes.

Stage Censorship and Students' Revolt

Until 1968 the representation of "violent, blasphemous and sexual improper scenes" [source of quote??] was censored by the Lord Chamberlain. After this law was abolished young playwrights had more freedom for their original intentions and could show the previous taboos. [How did this happen?? Please give a brief account with special honourable mention of Edward Bond].

Fringe Theatre

The situation of the "workers, the minorities and the homosexuals" were characteristic for the fringe theatre. This form of theatre emerged around 1968 and functions as an alternative to the traditional theater because the plays were performed on small stages in the suburbs, basements and factory buildings. This form also influenced the legitimate stage. [how??]

Women in the theatre reached more prestige and dramatists like e.g. Caryl Churchill could experiment with gender roles. In Cloud Nine (1979) for example she showed "postmodern permutation of gender roles" and debunked the connection between the British "colonial mentality and the sexual oppression" [source??]. [is Churchill considered Second Wave? I don't think so. Please check]

Electronic Media

The last factor that could be categorized into the Second Wave was the close correlation of the English drama and the electronic media. This form of media was not only a way to reflect the plays critically but also to use it as element within the play e.g. to show film sequence on stage. [This is usually not seen as part of the Second Wave, but of "postdramatic theatre"]

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References

Englische Literaturgeschichte. ed. Hans Ulrich Seeber. 4th ed. Stuttgart/Weimar: J.B. Metzler, 2004. p. 392-394.