Biography Essay

In 1975 American psychoanalyst Rollo May wrote: "It is easier in our society to be naked physically than to be naked psychologically or spiritually—easier to share our body than to share our fantasies, hopes, fears, and aspirations, which are felt to be more personal and the sharing of which is experienced as making us more vulnerable." Although written about contemporary American society, May's compassionate comment on the courage it takes to be vulnerable transcends its cultural context and describes the artistic vision of the prominent postwar British dramatist John Osborne, who has attempted to use the theater as a weapon to destroy old and outmoded ways of thinking and responding to life.

In 1957 Osborne wrote: "I do not like the kind of society in which I find myself. I like it less and less. I love the theatre more and more because I know that...