Nizar, I: Stephen Poliakoff: Britain‘s Nostradamus

This study is an attempt to portray the birth of British modern drama and the most important figures breaking its new ground. The focal point here is fixed on Stephen Poliakoff, one of the distinctive dramatists in contemporary British theatre, his work and the dramatic tinge he adds to the new drama. The work is devoted to Poliakoff‘s both earlier works represented by his Urban Canyon play Shout across the River and his later works of which his European play Breaking the Silence is typical. The choice of Poliakoff is motivated by the enviable reputation the playwright has already established for himself and the surprisingly little consideration he receives from the critics. Indeed, it is the contrast between this dearth of academic criticism on the one hand and his reputation as the most original and talented dramatist of the single television Drama on the other that prompted the author to look more closely at this Poliakoff phenomenon.