Act 1 Summary

The audience is introduced to the scene of the Porters' one-room apartment in the Midlands on an early April evening. The curtain rises on a large Victorian attic room, furnished simply with a dressing table, a double bed, a bookshelf, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a gas stove and a cupboard. Downstage center is a dining table with three chairs, as well as two worn leather armchairs.

Jimmy Porter and Cliff Lewis are seated in the armchairs, surrounded by newspapers. They are both about twenty-five, although Cliff has an easy air about him while Jimmy seems more tightly wound. Alison Porter, Jimmy's wife, a tall, dark girl with a striking beauty, is ironing off to the left.

Jimmy begins his usual tirade against the quality of the papers he and Cliff are reading, and the audience gets the sense that Cliff usually...