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JB Priestley

JB Priestley. JB Priestley: The Early Years. John Boynton Priestley born in Bradford in 1894. Priestley joined the British Army, on the outbreak of WWI. He was sent to France and in September 1915 was wounded and sent home to England.

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JB Priestley

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  1. JB Priestley

  2. JB Priestley: The Early Years • John Boynton Priestley born in Bradford in 1894. • Priestley joined the British Army, on the outbreak of WWI. • He was sent to France and in September 1915 was wounded and sent home to England. • After 6 months Priestley was sent back to the Western Front where he was injured in a German gas attack. • Deemed unfit for service and transferred to the Entertainers section of the British Army.

  3. Priestley’s Writing: • Went to study at Cambridge University, where he Wrote for the Cambridge Review • Also wrote theatre reviews for the Daily News. • Published books commenting on English Literature: The English Comic Characters (1925,) The English Novel (1927) and English Humour (1928) • Wrote popular novels The Good Companions (1929) and Angel Pavement (1930.) • Over 50 plays including: Dangerous Corner (1932,) Time and the Conways (1937) and When We Are Married (1938)

  4. JB Priestley: The Controversial Years • During WWII Priestley became a presenter on the BBC Radio programme Postscripts. • The programme started on June 5th 1940, and was aired every Sunday after the 9 o’clock news. • After a few months, it was estimated that around 40% of the adult population in Britain were tuning in to Priestley’s broadcasts.

  5. However… • Priestley took this opportunity to voice his left-wing opinions on the war and soon started to attract criticism from the Conservative party government.

  6. “We cannot go forward and build up this new world order, and this is our war aim, unless we begin to think differently. One must stop thinking in terms of property and power and begin thinking in terms of community and creation.” (21st July 1940)

  7. “We have gone sadly wrong like this before, and here and now we must resolve to never…”

  8. “…never…”

  9. “…do it again.” (JB Priestley - 5th June 1940)

  10. Priestley Sacked: • On 20th October 1940 Priestley made his last broadcast for BBC Radio’s Postscripts. “I received two letters - I kept them for years but may have lost them now - one was from the Ministry of Information, telling me that the BBC was responsible for the decision to take me off the air, and the other was from the BBC, saying that a directive had come from the Ministry of Information to end my broadcasts.” Margin Released (1962) Priestley’s autobiography

  11. The 1941 Committee • Priestley and a group of like-minded friends established the 1941 Committee. • In December 1941 published a report calling for public control of railways, mine and docks, as well as a National Wage policy. • In May 1942 further report argued for works councils and the publication of "post-war plans for the provision of full and free education, employment and a civilized standard of living for everyone."

  12. CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) • After the war Priestley continued to write on politics and literature . • He wrote an article for the New Statesman entitled Russia, the Atom and the West, attacking the decision by Aneurin Bevan to abandon his policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament (2nd November, 1957). • Many people wrote in to support Priestley and the CND was born.

  13. The CND campaigns non-violently to rid the world of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. • Founding members with Priestley included labour politicians Michael Foot, Frank Allaun and Fenner Brockway, writers Bertrand Russell and James Cameron and Canon John Collins.

  14. Social Change

  15. Theatre used to incite Social Change: • Morality Plays: • Produced during 14th-16th Century. • Stories that entertain and educate audiences. • Protagonist is usually confronted with characters representing a moral dilemma – usually leading to a decision between picking ‘evil’ or ‘Godly’ route. • Examples are Everyman and The Castle of Perseverance (The main characters are Everyman and Mankind – speaking to whole audience, whereas the other characters include Death, God, Justice, Truth etc… ) • Defined by Dr. Ward as "a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions – figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general“. Can you think of any modern morality plays/ stories or films?

  16. Who (which class) would have been in the audience when An Inspector Calls was first performed? (Why do you think this?) • What issues do you think Priestley may raise through his play, ‘An Inspector Calls’ ? • What does the term ‘naturalistic theatre’ mean? • What does the term ‘the 4th wall’ mean in theatre?

  17. 3. Word Association: GOOLE INSPECTOR

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