Of the distinctive voices in the contemporary British theatre, David Edgar’s provides the most comprehensive articulation of major political questions. His career spans more than four eventful and politically complex decades, and encompasses every variety of writing for performance, including agitprop and touring pieces; community plays; radio, film and television plays; and large-scale plays produced in major national venues such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In addition, Edgar has maintained a high profile as a public intellectual, engaging in depth with a wide variety of political issues through newspaper opinion pages, journal essays, and book reviews, as well as via frequent public speaking engagements before a variety of organizations, including the Commission on Racial Equality; the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce; the Fabian Society; and the annual Marxism conference. Thus, well beyond his own creative work, Edgar has been a central figure in British public life, particularly with regard to the relationships among the arts, government, and society.