Introduction and Early Works

This introductory chapter explains Graham’s importance to contemporary drama through the consistent quality and articulation of state-of-the-nation themes. Three subsections explore Graham’s anatomy of institutions with legitimately delegated power such as political and justice systems whose failings and inherent weaknesses since the Second World War affect their position in modern Britain, and the growing strength of undemocratic bodies in Graham’s plays with assumed power in contemporary society such as the media whose control of information sources has allowed them to influence national conversations and actively determine definitions of public interest. The final section summarises Graham’s early works and the trialing of techniques and themes that underpin Eden’s Empire, The Whisky Taster, Sons of York, Tory Boyz, The Man and A History of Falling Things, and provided a platform for launching the well-known and critically acclaimed works that followed.