Issues for Post-Thatcher Britain

Abstract

The re-emergence of issue plays in Britain since 1998, and acceleration of the trend from the year 2000, unequivocally signals theatre’s return to engagement with politics. This fresh engagement may be seen as the bursting of a dam after years of mounting dissent and frustration. Alternatively, the renewed engagement with politics may be seen as the outcome of several years of more accessible and responsive government, along with increased confidence in the possibility of political action on issues of urgent concern. Plays about specific political issues arise from a strongly felt need for change that impels proponents of such change to attempt to defy the odds against success as they bring their case before the public. Anger and even desperation propels such plays. However, an issue-oriented play also relies on some level of confidence that the political system will attend to the message and has the capacity to change. The systematic and thorough control exercised during the Thatcher years denied a hearing to issues of concern to the opposition. Under these conditions, anger turned to frustration, despair, and disengagement from public affairs. Recovery from these conditions did not occur overnight. Neither the in-yer-face plays nor the responses to them articulated specific issues that could conceivably be addressed by the government.