The Good Hope (In "The Drama: A Quarterly Review of Dramatic Literature")

This opening essay invites listeners into the heated world of early‑twentieth‑century theatre, where critics wrestle with labels like “realistic,” “naturalistic,” and “moral.” It sketches the long‑standing clash that began with Ibsen’s controversial plays and spilled into the Parisian “free theatres,” framing the debate as more than a matter of style—​it became a struggle over social conscience and artistic honesty. The writer maps the shifting terminology, from “photographic” to “dreary,” and shows how each buzzword carried a polemical weight in the cultural battles of the time.

Beyond the jargon, the piece offers vivid portraits of the playwrights who defined the era—​Heijermans, Hauptmann, Strindberg, Shaw—and the divergent paths they followed as they probed everyday life. Listeners will gain a clear sense of why the period’s dramas were seen as either revolutionary mirrors of society or unsettling provocations, setting the stage for a deeper appreciation of modern theatre’s roots.