Skip to main content
1962

Chips with Everything

Written by Arnold Wesker

Play Details

Context

Artistic Director 
George Devine

Dates Performed

Friday 27th April 1962
Main House (Downstairs)

Wednesday 13th June 1962
Vaudeville Theatre

Play Details

Synopsis

On a post-war RAF base, class tensions simmer as young conscripts from diverse backgrounds await their fates.

A group of young men, thrown together by National Service, navigate the rigid hierarchy of the Royal Air Force. At the center of the drama is Pip, a privately educated recruit who defies expectations by refusing to apply for officer training, choosing instead to remain with his working-class comrades.

Wesker’s play provides a sharp critique of British class structure and its influence on military life. Through the interactions of the conscripts and their superiors, the play explores themes of social mobility, institutional power, and the clash between individual identity and collective duty.

As the recruits undergo training and anticipate their postings, the play raises provocative questions about the nature of authority and the possibility of transcending one’s background. Can Pip truly escape his class destiny? And in a system designed to enforce conformity, is genuine camaraderie across class lines possible?

Director(s)

John Dexter

Other productions

Cast & Creative

Cast

Laurie Asprey

Cast

Alexander Balfour

Cast

Michael Blackham

Cast

Martin Boddey

Cast

Robert Bruce

Cast

John Bull

Cast

Colin Campbell

Cast

Michael Craze

Cast

Colin Farrell

Cast

Frank Finlay

Cast

Hugh Futcher

Cast

Michael Goldie

Cast

Roger Heathcott

Cast

Bruce Heighley

Cast

George Innes

Cast

John Kelland

Cast

Peter Kelly

Cast

Ronald Lacey

Cast

Corin Regrave

Cast

Alan Stevens x

Designer

Jocelyn Herbet

Sound

Colin Farrell

What our readers said

 

What’s it like reading this play now?

It feels of its time, particularly the ways of speaking and turns of phrase. But the idea of rebelling against engrained social expectations remains universal.