His most influential plays often bristle with sudden and unexpected violence, making him a key transitional figure between the overtly political British drama of the 1970s and the “in-yer-face” school of the 1990s.
The success of Hard Feelings began a run of work that included Progress (1984), Key to the World (1984), Fashion (1987), Grace (1992), Gaucho (1994), and The Shallow End (1996).
“[W]here are the aspiring dramatists of either sex who instantly identify themselves by the timbre of their dialogue or the idiosyncrasy of their stance, as Pinter and Bond once did?
In the Eighties, his poisonous and hilarious comedies Fashion and Progress gave us portraits of humanity that might prompt second thoughts about that post-show drink with friends.
"—Sarah Hemming, The Independent (1992)[6] "This is an angry account of a stratified Britain, in which the sons and daughters of the well-off enjoy a head start in life.