Christina Reid (12 March 1942 – 31 May 2015) was an Irish

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Life

Reid was born in North Belfast. She left school in 1957 and married in 1963. She enrolled at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

in 1981 but winning a BBC playwrighting competition and becoming a single parent following a divorce meant she did not complete the course. Reid was a writer-in-residence at the Lyric Theatre, and at the Young Vic. Reid was a scriptwriter on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's drama series ''

Citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

''. Reid was a Patron of YouthAction Northern Ireland, a charity working to inspire young people. One of its projects is the Rainbow Factory which has over 450 young people participating a range of classes, workshops and performances.

Private life

She was mother to three daughters, Heidi, Tara and Siubhan.

Awards

* Thames Television Playwriting Award for "Tea in a China Cup" * 1980 Ulster Television Drama Award, "Did You Hear the One About the Irishman?" * 1986 George Devine Award for "The Belle of Belfast City"

Selected works

Plays

*''Tea In A China Cup'', Lyric Theatre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1983 *''Did You Hear The One About The Irishman . . .?'', New York, 1985 *''Joyriders'', Tricycle Theatre, London, 1986 *''The Belle Of Belfast City'', Lyric Theatre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1989 *''My Name, Shall I Tell You My Name?'' Andrews Lane Theatre, Dublin, 1989 *''Les Misérables'', Nottingham Playhouse, 1992 *''The King of the Castle'', Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, London, 1999 *''Clowns'', The Room, Orange Tree, Richmond, 1996 *''A Year And A Day'', National Theatre, London, 2007

Books

*''Christina Reid, Plays I'', Methuen, 1997.

References

1942 births 2015 deaths Irish women dramatists and playwrights Alumni of Queen's University Belfast 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish women writers Place of birth missing {{playwright-stub