Caryl

Churchill Biography
Caryl Churchill is an English dramatist and womens right
activist, known for her non-conventional plays. This biography
of Caryl Churchill provides detailed information about her
childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Quick Facts
Famous as

Dramatist, Women's Rights Activist

Nationality

Briton

Born on

03 September 1938 AD

Zodiac Sign

Virgo

Born in

London, England

Father

Robert Churchill

Mother

Jan Churchill

Spouse:

David

Children

Joe, Paul, Rick

Caryl Churchill is an English dramatist and womens rights

activist, known for her unconventional plays representing
feminist themes. She is one of the most influential writers of the
world whose writing has a profound impact over people of all
ages. Her deep love for writing developed during her graduation
years at the Oxford University and this passion increased over
the time. Her career started as a radio dramatist and later she
wrote for television plays. She was quite successful in her radio
plays which presented a sense of responsibility mixed with
subtle humor. But it was the theatre which helped her realize
her full potential as the audience was able to imagine and
recreate in their own minds the story she displayed on stage
with sounds and actions. Her belief in womens power and views
about gender inequalities combined with other subjects like
traditional bondages and professional politics, to create a
realistic caricature of the society. She created awareness by
presenting to the orthodox society insights of their own shabby
and frail ideologies which should be abolished. Throughout her
theatrical journey, she wrote numerous noteworthy plays and
was able to rightfully claim her name in the list of people who
brought about significant changes in the society through their
innovative writing.
Childhood & Early Life
She was born on September 3, 1938 in London, England
to Robert Churchill, a political cartoonist and Jan
Churchill, a fashion model. She was the only child of her
parents.
When she was 10 years old, her family moved to Montreal,
Canada. She did her schooling from the Trafalgar School
for Girls.
In 1957, she returned to England for her college studies.
In 1960, she graduated with a B.A. Degree in English
Literature from Lady Margaret Hall, a womens college of
the prestigious Oxford University.
During her college years, she developed a keen interest in
dramatics and also wrote some plays which were

performed by the student drama groups of the university.

She wrote several plays such as Downstairs (1958),
Youve No Need to be Frightened and Having a
Wonderful Time (1960) while she was in the college.
Care e r
After graduating from Oxford University, she started
writing short radio dramas for BBC radio which were
successful in capturing the attention of listeners. Some of
them were T he Ants (1962), Not, Not, Not, Not Enough
Oxygen (1971) and Schreber s Nervous Illness (1972).
After her radio plays, she decided to write television plays
for BBC which were not much appreciated as compared to
her radio plays, although, her T V play T he Judges Wife
in 1973 and Shorts in 1990 were quite successful.
In 1972, she wrote her first professional play for the
theatre, Owners, which premiered at Londons Royal
Court T heatre. She became the resident dramatist of
Royal Court in 1974.
In the 1980s, she worked with many theatre companies
such as Joint Stock and Monstrous Regiment producing
some of her finest works like Cloud Nine and A Mouthful
of Birds.
In 2000, she wrote a play titled Far Away based on the
premise of a world in which everything in nature is at war.
It premiered at the Royal Court under the well-known
director Stephen Daldry. It features the story of a girl who
is afraid of the duality created by this new world and
cannot think of anyone who is not a part of this war, not
even nature.
In 2009, her 10-minute play Seven Jewish Children: A
Play for Gaza was caught up in political controversy for
its portrayal of Israelis.
In 2012, her play Love and Information was enacted in
the Royal Court and received critical as well as popular
acclaim. It deals with the concept of modern day

consciousness and the need of human bonding and

intimacy.
Major Works
Her 1979 play, Cloud Nine, is considered a mature and
sensible piece of work. It explores the complex
relationships

prevailing

in

the

society

and

their

consequences. It deals with the mature subjects of

attraction, homosexuality and bisexuality among the
central characters of the play.
Her 1982 play, Top Girls, is a notable play in her career
which gained her immense appreciation from the critics. It
focuses on the struggle and sacrifices of a woman to
achieve success in this male dominated society. It gives
us a satirical view of the suffering of a woman in different
ways in our society.
Her 1987 play, Serious Money, is a remarkable play,
known for being largely written in rhyming couplets. It is a
satirical representation of the business world set in the
backdrop of British stock market.
Aw ards & Achie v e m e nts
In 1958, she won her first award for her first play,
Downstairs, at the Sunday Times National Union of
Students Drama Festival. She wrote it while studying at
the university.
In 1961, she was honored with the Richard Hillary
Memorial Prize.
In 1974, she became the Resident Dramatist of the Royal
Court T heatrethe first woman to do so.
She won the prestigious Obie Award for Playwriting
consecutively in 1981 for Cloud Nine and in 1982 for
Top Girls.
In 1987, she won the Evening Standard Award for the Best
Comedy of the year and Laurence Oliver/ BBC Award for
Best New Play for her distinguished piece of work
Serious Money.

In 2010, she was inducted in the American T heatre Hall of

Fame.
Pe rsonal Life & Le gacy
In 1961, she married David Harter, a barrister. T he couple
has three sons, namely, Joe, Paul and Rick. Her husband
was very supportive and gave up his lucrative private law
practice so that she could spend ample time in writing.