A drawing room play is a type of play, developed during the Victorian period in the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

. They set upper- and middle-class characters confronting a social problem of the time with a comedic twist. The play is formed from a blend of three parts: part well-made play, part society drama, part comedy of manners. Exponents of this style include Henrik Ibsen, Arthur Wing Pinero,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, Edward Martyn and George Moore. The name ''drawing room play'' has its origins in the upper and middle classes of Victorian society, who with time on their hands, enacted amateur plays for the pleasure of their families in the drawing room. The style was later revisited by playwrights such as

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

and J. B. Priestley; with in turn John Osborne and the Angry young men, in reaction to the revival, creating kitchen sink dramas.

Examples

*''Dying for Love'' by John Maddison Morton *''Orange Blossoms'' by J. P. Wooler *''Romantic Attachment'' by Arthur Wood *''Match Making'' by John Poole * '' The Gay Lord Quex'' by Arthur Wing Pinero *'' Lady Frederick'' by W. Somerset Maugham *

's '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' is one of the most widely known examples of the drawing room play. His other plays in this style are '' Lady Windermere's Fan'', '' A Woman of No Importance'' and '' An Ideal Husband''. *'' Aren't We All?'' by Frederick Lonsdale *'' Relative Values'' by Noël Coward *'' An Inspector Calls'' by J. B. Priestley *'' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee.

References

{{Reflist Stage terminology Victorian culture

Examples

See also

References