æz mˈaɪkəl bˈɪlɪŋtən hɐz nˈoʊɾᵻd, ðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi z wɜː nˌɑːɾə ɡˈʊd dˈɛkeɪd fɔːɹ nˈuː dɹˈæmətˌɪsts ænd wˈʌn kæn pˈɔɪnt tʊ ˈoʊnli ɐ hˈændfəl hˌuː mˌeɪd ˌɛni sɪɡnˈɪfɪkənt mˈɑːɹk.
As Michael Billington has noted, the 1980s were not a good decade for new dramatists and one can point to only a handful who made any significant mark.