Wesker Plays, Vol.1 by Arnold Wesker

Wesker Plays, Vol.1 by Arnold Wesker

This first volume of Wesker's Collected Plays contains the Wesker Trilogy - 'A trilogy which will act as a monument to its era' Daily Mail

This trilogy of plays was premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in the 60s and concern Wesker's own background, growing up in a Jewish family in the 30s in the East End of London. 'The action of the trilogy takes place between the middle thirties and the late fifties and has as its background three wars - the Spanish Civil, the Second World, and the Cold. Its purpose is to show the ways in which these huge disturbances impinge on a Jewish working-class household, altering their habits of work and thought, and thus determining the course of their lives. The theme is a vast one and Mr Wesker is splendidly equipped to handle it. Like many Jewish writers, he thinks internationally, yet feels domestically; and it is this combination of attributes that enables him to bring gigantic events and ordinary people into the same sharp focus' (Kenneth Tynan, Observer)

'A trilogy which will act as a monument to its era' (Daily Mail)The passion of Mr Wesker's theme is matched by the living fire in his writing . its quality is undiminished by the passing years Bernard Levin
The theme is a vast one and Mr Wesker is splendidly equipped to handle it. Like many Jewish writers, he thinks internationally, yet feels domestically; and it is this combination of attributes that enables him to bring gigantic events and ordinary people into the same sharp focus Kenneth Tynan, Observer

In 2006, Arnold Wesker F.R.S.L was knighted for his services to drama. He's written almost forty-three plays, two opera libretti, and many mechanical adaptations; four collections of short stories, a children's book, and a novel; two collections of essays, an autobiography, a diary, and a book on journalism; and, most recently, his first collection of poetry. His plays have been staged all over the world, from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, Paris to Moscow, Montreal to Zurich, and The Kitchen, his most well-known play, has been presented every year somewhere or other for the past fifty years, and was recently resurrected by The National Theatre in 2011. Arnold Wesker was recently interviewed by the Guardian in advance of the revivals of his comedies Chicken Soup With Barley (The Royal Court) and The Kitchen (The National Theatre).