An American theater critic observed recently that the British theater has traditionally been a theater of language rather than a theater of emotion and spectacle. The comment, though patently less than a half-truth, was made to illustrate the special qualities and weaknesses of the American stage, and in that light it does seem that British playwrights, actors, and, indeed, audiences have felt more comfortable with highly literate dialogue than their American counterparts. Certainly, since John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1956), the modern British playgoer has been reminded of the potent possibilities of words handled with vigor and intelligence. Simon Gray belongs to a group of English playwrights, among whom might be numbered Tom Stoppard and Christopher Hampton, who have not been afraid of putting on stage the kind of literate conversation that might more usually be heard in a faculty club or senior common room.

Born on Hayling...