Writing visionary drama: an anarcho-Christian approach to the contemporary British play through four theatre texts by James Martin Charlton: The World & his Wife, Coming Up, ecstasy + GRACE, Coward

This context statement critically reflects on the submitted public works, four plays by James Martin Charlton which were professionally premièred at fringe and off-West End venues in the UK between the mid-1980s and the early 2010s. The statement argues that Charlton has developed a style of contemporary play which is capable of both expressing and exploring an anarcho-Christian vision, thereby exhibiting new approaches to form, style and character in the contemporary British stage drama.
The statement utilises autoethnography to explore a personal journey towards an anarcho- Christian stance. It contrasts these beliefs with the socialistic politics and materialistic philosophy common amongst contemporary British dramatists. It explores the ways in which Charlton has used form, style, and character to express his anarcho-Christian vision. It draws on diverse inspirations, including the structuralist approach of critic Northrop Frye, paradigms and theories from the work and writing of Christian non-theatre artists William Blake and Bob Dylan, and prototypes from early and classical drama from the medieval and Renaissance eras, as well as work by contemporary dramatists.
This statement establishes Charlton as a divergent voice using the contemporary play to investigate and express a distinctive vision of aberrant political and spiritual playwriting. In pursuit of this, Charlton has developed his own form of visionary drama.