Ten years after Look Back in Anger, what has the English theatre got? In the order that it impinges upon my consciousness at the moment, I would make up the list as follows:

1. 1. The high esteem of America and the continent.

2. 2. Two well-honed, semi-permanent companies: the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare.

3. 3. Three major playwrights: John Osborne, Harold Pinter, and John Arden.

4. 4. A host of lesser lights ranging from the steady beams of Wesker and Bolt to the firefly-flickerings of Campton and Simpson.

5. 5. A chrestomathy of spot-on criticism by one drama critic: Tynan.

6. 6. Jennie Lee, recently-appointed Minister of Culture responsible for drumming the arts into the national consciousness, and directly responsible for a sizeable increase in the Arts Council appropriation.

7. 7. A few murmurings in the provinces; mostly audible at Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent, but as yet nothing to write home about.