Literature Atlas

How Stories Are Told
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Genre

Kitchen Sink Drama

Dramatic Genres

Kitchen sink drama, part of the broader kitchen sink realism movement in British theatre, art, novels and film of the late 1950s and early 1960s, is a theatrical genre depicting the domestic lives of working-class Britons living in cramped rented housing and spending their off hours drinking in grimy pubs, often centered on protagonists described as angry young men disillusioned with modern society. Its style of social realism was used to explore controversial contemporary topics and stood in deliberate contrast to the escapism of the well-made plays of the previous theatrical generation.

Facts
Place of Origin
United Kingdom 1
Notable Example
Look Back in Anger by John Osborne 1
Defining Trait
Depicts domestic lives of working class Britons in cramped rented housing 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Kitchen sink realism - Wikipedia
  • Infobox, country
    United Kingdom
  • History
    the John Osborne play Look Back in Anger (1956) is thought of as the first of the genre
  • Intro
    depicted the domestic situations of working-class Britons living in cramped rented accommodation
View the Source
Frequently Asked Questions

Which play is regarded as the first kitchen sink drama?

John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1956).

John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1956) is generally thought of as the first of the genre. Its angry young man protagonist and its working-class domestic setting became the pattern for the plays that followed in British theatre of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.