Caryl Churchill & Joint Stock Theatre Company
Caryl Churchill was born in London on September 3, 1938. She grew up in England and Canada, giving her a uniquely multi-cultural perspective in which to discern the world. She received her BA from Oxford University. Originally she wrote radio plays, a genre whose style helped her with the transition to writing for the stage. She also learned how to be free from the limitations of the stage, which probably in part led to her use of role-doubling and gender bending. She began her transition to stage in 1974 when she served as the dramatist for the Royal Court Theatre, and with the help of collaborating with troupes such as the Joint Stock Theatre Company, Churchill enjoyed renowned success. She has won three Obie Awards and a Society of West End Theatre Award.
The Joint Stock Theatre Company was known as one of Britain's most innovative alternative theatre groups due largely in part to the successful playwrights and actors that worked with the group. The company closed its doors in 1989 after loss of funding, leaving its struggles with feminism and multicultural identity largely downplayed. The Company's earlier years in the 1970s were marked by a connection with larger social movements and the political concerns of the group, making the origination of the Group timely in its encompassing of socialism. Whereas all of the actors and directors were to have equal say in the company, two directors largely controlled the impulse of the Group. Because of its undertaking of large political issues such as gender politics and race in "Cloud Nine," many people deemed the group a general left-wing/socialist "structure of feeling" (Freeman, 2006).
The Joint Stock Theatre Company was known as one of Britain's most innovative alternative theatre groups due largely in part to the successful playwrights and actors that worked with the group. The company closed its doors in 1989 after loss of funding, leaving its struggles with feminism and multicultural identity largely downplayed. The Company's earlier years in the 1970s were marked by a connection with larger social movements and the political concerns of the group, making the origination of the Group timely in its encompassing of socialism. Whereas all of the actors and directors were to have equal say in the company, two directors largely controlled the impulse of the Group. Because of its undertaking of large political issues such as gender politics and race in "Cloud Nine," many people deemed the group a general left-wing/socialist "structure of feeling" (Freeman, 2006).
