Written in 1892, The Weavers was a response to an extraordinary, disorganised and doomed rebellion by factory workers in Silesia in the 1840s. Fifty years later, conditions had not significantly changed and Hauptmann's dramatisation, which places the workers centre stage, was a radical departure from German romantic drama. It is now considered a classic of socialist theatre and the first play with a collective hero. This edition also provides an introduction to the play and to Hauptmann's life and work. 'Hauptmann has written two or three masterpieces - a little immortal thing like The Weavers for instance' James Joyce 'His work stands with that of Ibsen and Strindberg as the source and inspiration of all modern drama' Eugene O'Neill.