Abstract

The plays of John Arden represent various uses of socio-political issues in contemporary British drama. All the plays are based on divergent aesthetic values and have attracted critical attention and enjoyed commercial success. Moreover in these plays the dramatist employs variety in forms and techniques which are par with conventions of Naturalistic dramas. The mixture of prose and poetry, music, songs and episodic structures directly addresses the audience and honestly portrays the characters on theatrical stage. The reason for selecting these plays is based on the relevance of social and political issues. These plays represent the social and political situation with respect to the twentieth century social setting. With the production of Look Back in Anger by John Osborn in 1956, a huge change took place in British drama. Fashionable drawing rooms were replaced by quality public houses with significant change in terms of subject matter, setting, and language. Theatre was regarded as more than a place for entertainment .At this point John Arden was becoming increasingly well known in England. He desired a dramatic unity, setting and entertainment that consisted ideas of contemporary political and social relevance.

 John Arden had been interested in writing plays related to social setting. His plays namely Live Like Pigs, Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance and Armstrong’s Last Goodnight, reflect John Arden’s political and social ideas. Other plays related to social issues written by him cannot be included because they are not forceful as the above. Chronologically Live Like Pigs was first performed in 1956.