Wesker, Arnold (1932-2016), was an English playwright best known for dramas based on his own background and socialist convictions. Wesker became famous for his trilogy of plays about a working class Jewish family in the East End area of London. The plays are Chicken Soup with Barley (1958), Roots (1959), and I’m Talking About Jerusalem (1960). The trilogy deals with the problems of restless, frustrated people searching for a new way of life and the clash between the idealism of the young and the disillusionment of the old.
Wesker’s drama The Kitchen (1959) reflects his experiences as a restaurant pastry chef for four years. Chips with Everything (1962) is based on his memories of serving in the Royal Air Force. In The Merchant (1976), Wesker reworked William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. Wesker’s other plays include Their Very Own and Golden City (1964), The Wedding Feast (1974), and The Journalists (written in 1971 and 1972, first performed in 1981). Wesker also wrote short stories and essays. He examined his experiences in the theater in a nonfiction book, The Birth of Shylock & The Death of Zero Mostel (1999).
Wesker was born on May 24, 1932, in London. He was briefly jailed in 1961 for his activities opposing nuclear weapons in England. In 1961, Wesker founded and directed an organization called Centre 42. The organization was dedicated to bringing the arts to the working classes of London. It closed in 1970 for financial reasons. In 2006, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Wesker for his services to the theater. Wesker died on April 12, 2016.
