Shelagh Delaney's 1958 play, written when she was only 19, brought the lives and struggles of northern, working-class people onto the stage. Initially dividing the critics - some of whom regarded it as 'immature' - it went on to become one of the most defining plays of the twentieth century. This Student Edition contains a commentary by Hannah Simpson, Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which explores the following themes in relation to the play: - gender roles - homosexuality - race - class - youth - 1950s notions of family In addition, it looks at the play's production history, different ways it has been staged, and critical reception; the form of the kitchen-sink and drawing-room drama and to what extent the play conforms or disrupts these models; 1950s Britain and what it was like; and the play's ambiguous ending.