Alison Porter shares an attic flat with her husband, Jimmy Porter, and their friend Cliff Lewis in the Midlands of England. When the play begins, Alison is ironing clothes while both her husband and roommate sit in chairs reading. Alison is wearing one of Jimmy’s shirts. Jimmy and Cliff are reading the Sunday papers and bickering. Jimmy complains about a book review he is reading in a “posh” paper that is written in French. He then asks Alison if this fact upsets her, to which she replies that she is not listening. This upsets Jimmy, and he presses on with his rebuke, verbally attacking his wife. He next turns to Cliff and admonishes him for being ignorant and uneducated. He does not think Cliff understands the papers and their message. Cliff agrees with his friend, in a self-deprecating way. Jimmy then says that Alison herself has not had a thought or an original idea for quite some time. Alison, too, quickly agrees with Jimmy. As the scene unfolds, Cliff complains aloud about Jimmy’s pipe smoke. Alison, however, tells him that she has grown accustomed to the smoke.