''Chicken Soup with Barley'' is a 1956 play by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
Arnold Wesker. It is the first of the 'Wesker
trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
'
– being followed by ''
Roots
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* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...
'' and ''
I'm Talking about Jerusalem'' – and was first performed on stage in 1958 at the
Belgrade Theatre in
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, transferring later that year to the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
in London. It is considered to be an important play in the history of
post-war British theatre,
and one of the few English plays with a sympathetic portrayal of a
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
family. The character of Sarah was based on Arnold Wesker's aunt,
Sarah Wesker, who was a trade union activist in the East End of London.
A major revival, starring
Samantha Spiro
Samantha Spiro (born 20 June 1968) is an English actress and singer. She played Barbara Windsor in the stage play '' Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick'' and the television films '' Cor, Blimey!'' and '' Babs'', D.I. Vivien Friend in '' M.I.T.: ...
, was staged at the Royal Court in the summer of 2011.
Synopsis
The play is split into three acts, each with two scenes. It spans 20 years of the lives of the
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, immigrant Kahn family living in 1936 in London, and traces the downfall of their ideals in a changing world, parallel to the disintegration of the family.
Synopsis
from Arnold Wesker's homepage. .Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Stalinism
Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
, and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...
. Sarah is an adamant socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
; she is strong, family-minded, honest though bossy; Harry, her husband, is weak, a liar and lacks conviction; Ada is extremely passionate about what she believes in, especially Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
, and, like the others, is also romantic both personally and politically; and finally, Ronnie is a romantic, youthful idealist.
References
External links
Arnold Wesker discusses ''Chicken Soup with Barley''
on the BBC ''World Book Club
''World Book Club'' is a radio programme on the BBC World Service. Each edition of the programme, which is broadcast on the first Saturday of the month with repeats into the following Monday, features a famous author discussing one of his or her ...
''
A review
of ''Chicken Soup with Barley''.
''Chicken Soup with Barley''
at the Nottingham Playhouse.
Plays by Arnold Wesker
1956 plays
{{1950s-play-stub