A new generation of dynamic British writers came of age in the Long 1980s (1974-90). Pioneering new, confrontational, performative styles and forms, often sharing the same stages and spaces, these playwrights, punk poets, dub poets, and reggae, punk and new wave lyricists frequently used their newly found voices to protest against the profound injustices of the period: deep-rooted racism and police persecution, apartheid, the continuing oppression of the patriarchy, the invisibility of disability, homophobic responses to the emergent HIV/AIDS virus, war and conflict, and ecocide; a few of the many causes of intense social discontent in disordered times. Through the integration of historical study, political science, and literary analysis, complemented by archival research and new interviews with playwrights, poets, and lyricists, this research will undertake the first comprehensive analysis of the context, cause, and affects of this New British Protest.
This doctoral research is being undertaken by PhD student Nick Berbiers from the University of Kent’s School of English, supervised by Dr. Ben Hickman.