Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

themes.Caryl Churchill profile
''Encyclopædia Britannica''; accessed 26 January 2018. Celebrated for works such as '' Cloud 9'' (1979), '' Top Girls'' (1982), '' Serious Money'' (1987), '' Blue Heart'' (1997), '' Far Away'' (2000), and ''

A Number ''A Number'' is a 2002 English play by Caryl Churchill. The story, set in the near future, is structured around the conflict between a father (Salter) and his sons (Bernard 1, Bernard 2, and Michael Black) – two of whom are clones of the first ...

'' (2002), she has been described as "one of Britain's greatest poets and innovators for the contemporary stage". In a 2011 dramatists' poll by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', five out of the 20 polled writers listed Churchill as the greatest living playwright.

Early life and education

Churchill was born on 3 September 1938 in

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the daughter of Jan Brown, a fashion model and actress, and Robert Churchill, a political cartoonist. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

her family emigrated to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Canada; Churchill was ten years old. In Montreal, she attended Trafalgar School for Girls. She returned to England to attend university in 1956, and in 1960 graduated from

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...

, with a BA degree in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. She received the Richard Hillary Memorial Prize at Oxford and also began her writing career there. Her four earliest plays, ''Downstairs'' (produced 1958),''You've No Need to be Frightened'', ''Having a Wonderful Time'' (1960), and ''Easy Death'' (produced 1962) were performed at Oxford by student theatre ensembles. One of her plays, ''Downstairs'' was performed at the National Student Drama Festival in 1958 and won the first prize.

Work

While raising a family in the 1960s and 1970s, Churchill began to write short radio dramas for BBC Radio. These included ''The Ants'' (1962), ''Not, Not, Not, Not Enough Oxygen'' (1971), and ''Schreber's Nervous Illness'' (1972). She also wrote television plays for the BBC, including ''

The After-Dinner Joke ''The After-Dinner Joke'' is a television play in the epic form written by the English playwright Caryl Churchill for the BBC1 '' Play for Today'' series which was broadcast on 14 February 1978. Unfolding through a sequence of 66 short, episodic ...

'' (1978) and ''Crimes'' (1982). These, as well as some of her

radio plays Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, have been adapted for the stage. In her early work Churchill explored

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...

and sexuality through modernist theatre techniques of

Epic theatre Epic theatre (german: episches Theater) is a theatrical movement arising in the early to mid-20th century from the theories and practice of a number of theatre practitioners who responded to the political climate of the time through the creatio ...

. In the mid-1980s she started to incorporate

dance-theatre The German Tanztheater ("dance theatre") grew out of German Expressionist dance in Weimar Germany and 1920s Vienna. The term first appears around 1927 to identify a particular style of dance emerging from within the new forms of 'expressionist dan ...

in her writing. ''

A Mouthful of Birds ''A Mouthful of Birds'' is a 1986 play with dance, written by Caryl Churchill and David Lan, with choreography by Ian Spink. Drawing its themes from ''The Bacchae'' of Euripides, it is a meditation on possession, madness and female violence. ...

'' (1986) is the first example of this, and references the surrealist theatre tradition of

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

and the Theatre of Cruelty. The fragmented and surrealistic narratives in Churchill's work characterises her work as postmodernist.

Themes and plays

In 1972, she wrote ''

Owners Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

'', a two-act, 14-scene play about obsession with power. It was her first professionally produced stage play and "her first major theatrical endeavour"; it was produced in London the same year. She served as resident dramatist at the Royal Court Theatre from 1974 to 1975, and was the Royal Court's first female playwright in residence. She began collaboration with theatre companies such as the Joint Stock Theatre Company and the

Monstrous Regiment Theatre Company Monstrous Regiment Theatre Company is a British feminist theatre company established in 1975. Monstrous Regiment went on to produce and perform 30 major shows, in which the main focus was on women's lives and experiences. Performer-led and collectiv ...

feminist theatre Feminist theater grew out of the wider Political theater of the 1970s, and continues to the present. It can take on a variety of meanings, but the constant thread is the lived experience of women. History Various women's theaters started up in the ...

collective). Both used an extended workshop period in their development of new plays. Churchill continues to use an improvisational workshop period in developing a number of her plays. During this period, she also wrote ''Objections to Sex and Violence'' (1974). Her first play to receive wide notice was '' Cloud Nine'' (1979), "a farce about sexual politics", set partly in a British overseas colony during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

. It explores the effects of the

colonialist Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power ( economic and ...

mindset on intimate personal relationships, and uses cross-gender casting for comic and instructive effect. The play became successful in Britain and in the United States, winning an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

in 1982 for best play of the year in New York. Churchill gradually abandoned more conventions of

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

, with her loyalty to feminist themes and ideas becoming a guiding principle in her work. She won an

for best play in 1983 with '' Top Girls'', "which deals with women's losing their humanity in order to attain power in a male-dominated environment." It features an all-female cast, and focuses on Marlene, who has relinquished a home and family to achieve success in the world of business. Half the action takes place at a celebratory dinner where Marlene mixes with historical, iconic and fictional women who have achieved great stature in a "man's world", but always at great cost. The other half of the play, set a year in the past, focuses on Marlene's family, where the true cost of her "successful" life becomes poignantly and frighteningly apparent. In ''Top Girls'', Churchill devised a system to indicate how the dialogue should be performed. She used the forward dash signal (/) to demonstrate a person interrupting the person speaking. She also used the asterisk symbol (*) to indicate a speech following on from a speech earlier than the one immediately before it. ''Softcops'' (first produced by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

in 1984), is a "surreal play set in 19th-century France about government attempts to depoliticize illegal acts". Justin Hayford of the '' Chicago Reader'' wrote that the play had little to offer to those who had already read

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...

's '' Discipline and Punish'' (on which ''Softcops'' is based), and that the play "glosses Foucault's monumental work in Cliffs Notes fashion". In 2018, Michael Billington stated that ''Softcops'' "felt like a meditation on crime and punishment lacking Churchill's usual gift of narrative drive." The play ''

'' (1986) was co-written with David Lan. Wallace Shawn has argued that it is among the "rich, inventive" Churchill works that are responsible for theater remaining exciting in modern times. Cameron Woodhead of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' billed the play as "a difficult pleasure to watch and a challenge to perform". Billington listed ''A Mouthful of Birds'' as one of Churchill's misfires, however, and dismissed the play as "mystifying in its attempt to create a dance-drama suggesting that the violence and ecstasy of Euripides' ''

The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...

'' were alive in modern Britain." '' Serious Money'' (1987), "a comedy about excesses in the financial world", is a verse play, chiefly written in rhyming couplets. It takes a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

look at the vagaries of the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, ...

and its Thatcherite denizens. The play was highly acclaimed, perhaps in part because it played immediately after the stock market crash of 1987. ''Icecream'' ( Royal Court Theatre 1989) explores Anglo-American stereotypes. Richard Christensen of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' wrote that ''Icecream'' "doesn't have much depth, but it does have a quirky, creepy kick to it", describing it as "a small but telling piece of theater". Andrew Dickson of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' dubbed the play "wryly picaresque" in 2015. Churchill's play ''

The Skriker ''The Skriker'' is a 1994 play by Caryl Churchill that tells the story of an ancient fairy who, during the course of the play, transforms into a plethora of objects and people as it pursues Lily and Josie, two teenage mothers whom it befriends, ma ...

'' (1994) includes distorted language, references to English folktales, and evocations of modern urban life. The Skriker is an ancient shape-shifting fairy and death portent in a search for revenge and love. The play initially received lukewarm reviews from critics, but is now considered among Churchill's successes. "The prolific Churchill continued to push boundaries into the late 1990s. In 1997 she collaborated with the composer Orlando Gough to create 'Hotel,' a choreographed opera or sung ballet set in a hotel room. Also that year her surrealistic short play 'This Is a Chair' was produced." Reviews of the London opening of ''Hotel'' were favorable, but with the first piece ("Eight Rooms") generally considered superior to the second ("Two Nights"). In 2015,

Moira Buffini Moira Buffini (born 29 May 1965) is an English dramatist, director, and actor. Early life Buffini was born in Cheshire to Irish parents, and attended St Mary's College at Rhos-on-Sea in Wales as a day girl. She studied English and Drama at Gol ...

of ''The Guardian'' listed ''This Is a Chair'' as one of Churchill's best works, stating that it "shows a real humility about the political inadequacy of playwrights." Her 2002 play, ''

'', addresses the subject of

human cloning Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy (or clone) of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural concept ...

and questions of identity. Churchill received an Obie Award in 2005 for this play. Her adapted screenplay of ''A Number'' was shown on BBC TV in September 2008. The play ''

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? ''Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?'' is a 2006 political play with eight scenes by Caryl Churchill. It addresses the application of power by the United States mostly since the Vietnam war. Critics' responses to the play are divided. Plot summary ...

'' (2006) takes a critical look at what she sees as Britain's submission to the United States in foreign policy. In 2010, Churchill was commissioned to write the libretto for a new short opera by

Orlando Gough Orlando Gough ( ; born 1953 in Brighton, Sussex) is a British composer, educated at Oxford, and noted for projects written for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. Collaborators have included Siobhan Davies, Alain Platel, Shobana Jeyasingh a ...

, as part of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

's ROH2 OperaShots initiative. The resulting work, ''A ring a lamp a thing'', played for five performances in the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House. Her play ''

Love and Information ''Love and Information'' is a play written by the British playwright Caryl Churchill. It first opened at the Royal Court Theatre in September 2012. It received many positive reviews from critics. Synopsis The play is a compilation of seven sect ...

'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in September 2012, directed by James Macdonald. It was well-received by critics. The play, featuring 100 characters and performed by a cast of 15, is structured as a series of more than 50 fragmented scenes, some no longer than 25 seconds, all of which are apparently unrelated but which accumulate into a startling mosaic, a portrayal of modern consciousness and the need for human intimacy, love and connection. The play will have its regional premiere at Sheffield Theatres in June 2018, directed by Caroline Steinbeis. ''Ding Dong the Wicked'' (2013) has been described as a companion piece to ''Love and Information''. Charles Spencer said in ''The Telegraph'' that the work is "little more than a clever dramatic exercise" but "nags away in the memory long after you have left the theatre". Matthew Tucker gave the Royal Court Theatre performance three out of five stars, dubbed the play "snappy", and wrote, "Some may find this latest offering terse and obscure, however, in the spirit of explorative theatre, ''Ding Dong The Wicked'' is an intriguing and satisfying production." A reviewer for the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' argued, "What it all means is food for later reflection, but as always Churchill seems inventive, coolly socialist, bleak yet dazzling, a bit of a shaman. Although her technique sounds gimmicky, it works." Conversely, ''The Guardian'''s Michael Billington wrote that the work "feels as if it's cramming a trunkload of ideas into a tiny vanity case ..the tightness of the format means there is no room to explore the source of so much private and public fury, or to differentiate between one society and another. In short, the play is too generalised to make any strong emotional impact." The Royal Court Theatre premiere of ''Pigs and Dogs'' received a positive review in '' The Stage'' and moderately positive reviews in ''The Guardian'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', and ''

'', with the last newspaper's Henry Hitchings stating, "While the incantatory style isn't consistently engaging, this is a striking parade of views on a subject that merits more sustained treatment." Andrzej Lukowski of ''Time Out'' said in a three-star review that the play "makes its point effectively if tersely". Mark Lawson of ''The Guardian'' praised ''Beautiful Eyes'' as a "sharp" comedy.

Translations

Churchill has published translations of Seneca's '' Thyestes'',

Olivier Choinière Olivier Choinière (born July 10, 1973) is a Canadian playwright from Granby, Quebec.Gaëtan Charlebois"Choinière, Olivier" ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', April 24, 2020. He is most noted as a three-time nominee for the Governor General's ...

's ''Bliss (Félicité)'', and August Strindberg's '' A Dream Play''. Her version of ''A Dream Play'' was premiered at the National Theatre in 2005.

Retrospective

The Royal Court Theatre held a 70th-birthday retrospective of her work by presenting readings of many of her most famous plays directed by notable playwrights, including Martin Crimp and Mark Ravenhill.

Interest in Palestine

Churchill is a patron of the

Palestine Solidarity Campaign The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is an activist organisation in England and Wales. It was incorporated in the UK in 2004 as Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ltd. They officially support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement ...

. In January 2009, she wrote a ten-minute play that explores a history of Israel, ending with the 2008 Israeli attack on Gaza. It was performed for free at the Royal Court Theatre, with a collection taken to donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians. ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' condemned its "ludicrous and utterly predictable lack of even-handedness"; for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', "there are no heroes or villains, for all that Churchill decries what is happening in Gaza". Writers such as Jeffrey Goldberg of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' and Melanie Phillips in her '' Spectator'' blog criticised the play as anti-Semitic, as did John Nathan. He noted that Churchill has said that ''

Seven Jewish Children ''Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza'' is a six-page, 10-minute play by British playwright Caryl Churchill, written in response to the 2008-2009 Israel military strike on Gaza, and first performed at London's Royal Court Theatre on 6 Februar ...

'' is "not just a theatre event but a political event." He suggested that a play representing views of one community and critical of that community needed to be written by a member of that community. The Royal Court denied the accusation. Churchill published the play, ''Seven Jewish Children – a play about Gaza'', online, for free download and use. Churchill said: "Anyone can perform it without acquiring the rights, as long as they do a collection for people in Gaza at the end of it".Royal Court acts fast with Gaza crisis play
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 24 January 2009. In April 2022, Churchill was named the recipient of the 2022 European Drama award in recognition of her life's work. The prize worth £65,000, given by German theatre Schauspiel Stuttgart and sponsored by the

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

ministry of science, research and arts, was cancelled after her support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions had been criticised.

Politics

In November 2019, along with other public figures, Churchill signed a letter supporting Labour Party leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialis ...

, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the

2019 UK general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote ...

Personal life

She married barrister David Harter in 1961. They have three sons and live in Hackney, east London.

List of works

Theatre

* ''Downstairs'' (1958) – produced but script unpublished * ''Having a Wonderful Time'' (1960) – produced but script unpublished * ''Easy Death'' (1960) – produced but script unpublished * ''Schreber's Nervous Illness'' (1972) – Performed earlier the same year on radio. Based on ''Memoirs of My Nervous Illness'' by Daniel Paul Schreber. * ''The Hospital at the Time of the Revolution'' (written 1972) * ''

'' (1972) * ''Moving Clocks Go Slow'' (1973) – produced but script unpublished * ''Objections to Sex and Violence'' (1975) * ''Traps'' (1976) * ''

Vinegar Tom ''Vinegar Tom'' is a 1976 play by the British playwright Caryl Churchill. The play examines gender and power relationships through the lens of 17th-century witchcraft trials in England. The script employs features of the epic theater associate ...

'' (1976) * '' Light Shining in Buckinghamshire'' (1976) * ''Floorshow'' (1977) – a cabaret, served as a contributor * ''Seagulls'' (written 1978) * '' Cloud Nine'' (1979) * ''Three More Sleepless Nights'' (1980) * '' Top Girls'' (1982) * ''

Fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

'' (1983) * ''Softcops'' (1983) * ''Midday Sun'' (1984) – created with Geraldine Pilgrim and Pete Brooks * ''

'' (1986) – created with David Lan and Ian Spink * ''A Heart's Desire'' (1987) * '' Serious Money'' (1987) * ''Icecream'' (1989) * ''Hot Fudge'' (1989) * ''

Mad Forest ''Mad Forest: A Play from Romania'' is a play by English playwright Caryl Churchill. The three acts occur, respectively, shortly before, during, and shortly after the Romanian Revolution of 1989. The play is mostly written in English, but has sev ...

'' (1990) * ''Lives of the Great Poisoners'' (1991) – created with Orlando Gough and Ian Spink * ''

'' (1994) * ''Thyestes'' (1994) – translation of Seneca's tragedy * '' Blue Heart'' (1997) * ''Hotel'' (1997) * ''This Is a Chair'' (1999) * '' Far Away'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * '' A Dream Play'' (2005) – translation of August Strindberg's play of the same name * ''

'' (2006) * ''Bliss'' (2008) – translation of the play ''Félicité'' by

* '' Seven Jewish Children – a Play for Gaza'' (2009) * ''

'' (2012) * ''Ding Dong the Wicked'' (2013) * ''War and Peace Gaza Piece'' (2014) * '' Here We Go'' (2015) * ''Tickets Are Now on Sale'' (2015) * '' Escaped Alone'' (2016) * ''Pigs and Dogs'' (2016) * ''Beautiful Eyes'' (2017) * ''

Glass Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...

'' (2019) * '' Kill'' (2019) * '' Bluebeard's Friends'' (2019) * '' Imp'' (2019) * '' What If If Only'' (2021)

Radio dramas

* ''You've No Need to be Frightened'' (1959) * ''The Ants'' (1962) * ''Lovesick'' (1966) * ''Identical Twins'' (1968) * ''Abortive'' (1971) * ''Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen'' (1971) * ''Schreber's Nervous Illness'' (1972) – based on ''Memoirs of My Nervous Illness'' by Daniel Paul Schreber. * ''Henry's Past'' (1972) * ''The Judge's Wife'' (1972) * ''Top Girls'' (1992) - radio version of Churchill's 1982 play of the same name. * ''Serious Money'' (2011) - radio version of Churchill's 1987 play of the same name. * ''The Skriker'' (2016) - radio version of Churchill's 1994 play of the same name. * ''Escaped Alone'' (2018) - radio version of Churchill's 2016 play of the same name.

Television

* ''Save It for the Minister'' (1975) – written with Mary O'Malley and Cherry Potter * ''

'' (1978) * ''The Legion Hall Bombing'' (1979) * ''Crimes'' (1982) * ''Fugue'' (1987) – created with Ian Spink * ''Top Girls'' (1991) – television adaptation of Churchill's 1982 stage play of the same name * ''A Number'' (2008) – television adaptation of Churchill's 2002 stage play of the same name

Unproduced and unpublished works

* ''The Finnsburg Fragment'' (1961) – stage play * ''Marriage Of Toby's Idea Of Angela And Toby's Idea Of Angela's Idea Of Tony'' (1968) – stage play * ''The Swimming Club'' * ''The Loonies'' * ''Comic Strips from the Chinese'' * ''Angel''

Awards and honours

Churchill has received the following awards: *1958 '' Sunday Times''/ National Union of Students Drama Festival Award Downstairs *1961 Richard Hillary Memorial Prize *1981

for Playwriting, ''Cloud Nine'' *1982 Obie Award for Playwriting, ''Top Girls'' *1983 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (runner-up), ''Top Girls'' *1984 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, ''Fen'' *1987 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year, ''Serious Money'' *1987 Obie Award for Best New Play, ''Serious Money'' *1987 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, ''Serious Money'' *1988

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

/ BBC Award for Best New Play, ''Serious Money'' *2001 Obie Sustained Achievement Award *2010 Inducted into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

References

External links

*
BBC Radio Plays at ukonlineBBC World Service radio documentary about Caryl Churchill from 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Caryl 1938 births Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford English emigrants to Canada Living people Writers from London Postmodern theatre British women dramatists and playwrights Feminist theatre 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British women writers