Lecture
Professor David Peimer
Saturday 23.05.2026
Professor David Peimer
Britain Withdraws from Empire: ‘Kitchen Sink Theatre’ Rises, Why?
Saturday 23.05.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 23 May at 5:00pm (UK).
Summary
Britain had won the war. Ironically, imperial decline began and gritty, realist 1950s theatre arose. Why? With Britain’s global status dwindling, writers turned away from imperial grandeur to see the raw, tough life on the homefront—national disillusionment and a stagnant social contract which could not sustain new postwar demands. Was it about needing to challenge the traditional ruling class’s complacency? Or, with empire fading, did a new British identity need to be born? How do eras change when illusions are exhausted? We explore these ideas in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, and Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine, as well as other plays of the period.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published numerous books, including Armed Response: Plays from South Africa and the digital book Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.