ABSTRACT
The ‘New Drama’ was a phenomenon connected to other ‘New’ movements of the cultural avant-garde of the fin de siècle, such as the New Woman and the New Journalism. The reception of Ibsen in London was mixed and sometimes the subject of extreme and combative reviewing, as shown in selections. Elizabeth Robins and Florence Bell’s collaboration on the play Alan’s Wife is an overlooked example of the Ibsenite influence forming the New Drama. Robins was an American-born actor, playwright and novelist, who made her reputation playing the title role in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. The organisation and practices of the British theatre at the end of the nineteenth century – and particularly the London stage – are in many ways still recognisable in the theatre industry today. The nineteenth century, however debilitated its drama might appear from a literary critical point of view, formed a national theatrical culture that is still recognisable today.
