Howard Brenton, Weapons of Happiness

Steve Barfield (University of Human Development, Suleymanyia, Iraqi Kurdistan); Ian Foakes (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1976

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Howard Brenton’s Weapons Of Happiness inaugurated the Lyttleton Theatre space at the National Theatre in 1976 and won the Evening Standard best play award. As a result, it was widely perceived as the triumph of alternative fringe theatre’s penetration of mainstream theatrical culture. It is audacious in both its striking use of shock techniques (such as the mixing of fantastic and realist elements) and its ambitions to make connections between contemporary social issues in Britain and the wider history of the European Left. Such disorientating techniques include such moments as that at the beginning of Act Two, where there is a scene with Josef Frank and Victor Clementis (Czech communists), a placid Joseph Stalin and …

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1095 words

Citation: Barfield, Steve, Ian Foakes. "Weapons of Happiness". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16709, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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