Brenton has survived the demise of the Fringe and has gained a controversial position unequalled among the writers of the late 1960's. But critical acclaim, commercial acceptance, and diversity of interests have in no way threatened the intensity of Brenton's political commitment. He remains one of Britain's most dedicated political writers and unapologetically states, "All my plays are written unreservedly in the cause of socialism." And though "agit/prop" is a label he eschews, he openly avows, "My purpose is to agitate by satire, by intelligent argument, by writing scenes of verifiable truth … and to propagate an idea"; he thus attempts to revitalize the revolutionary's vocabulary while avoiding such stock conventions as sermons, placards, and facile solutions. In depicting the struggles of people trapped in a world without political or social morality and in avoiding traditional psychological analyses, Brenton establishes himself as a descendant of Brecht. He adheres to the Brechtian imperative of man as the sum of social circumstance and of the drama as the study of social contradictions as manifested in the individual.
Brenton, with this political focus of an unabashed dedication to socialism, uses the theater to investigate revolution. Not surprisingly, early Brenton plays embrace the political or moral rebel as a leading character. Christie in Love follows the progression of a love that can find its ultimate expression only in murder; John Christie, in following his own erotic and ethical code, violates all social laws and usual concepts of affection. In The Churchill Play, prison inmates who have been incarcerated for various innocuous forms of political protest perform a satirical play for government officials. The Saliva Milkshake focuses on the confrontation between a radical-turned-assassin and a liberal acquaintance whose political commitment consists of mere ideological flirtation. And in both Magnificence and Weapons of Happiness, a radical faction seizes control of a building in an aborted attempt to effect social change. (p. 30)
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