5 Contemporary British Playwrights You Need To Know | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

5 Contemporary British Playwrights You Need To Know

The Brits gave us more than just Shakespeare

6698
5 Contemporary British Playwrights You Need To Know

As a certain famous Brit once wrote..."All the world's a stage."

For centuries, live theatre has been an essential part of England's social scene. Everyone from the poorest of peasants to Queen Elizabeth I saw a visit to the theater as one of the greatest, most accessible sources of culture and entertainment.

Some audience members even got so emotionally invested in the stories they were watching that they would throw rotten fruit at the actors!

This autumn I took a course on Modern British Drama where each week I had the privilege to attend and review a live performance of a show currently playing in London. From shabby one-man college productions to full West End musical phenomenon, I saw an extremely diverse range of performances and had the chance to discover some of England's most impressive dramatists.

If you too want to immerse yourself in the captivating world of the British stage, here are a few essential playwrights you should be familiar with.

1. Caryl Churchill

Caryl Churchill is considered by many to be one of the greatest living dramatists and modern-day writers. For more than four decades, Churchill's work has consistently pushed creative boundaries in order to explore themes of feminism, abuse of power, parental abandonment, and cultural revolution. She's experimented with practically every form of drama and subject matter from non-linear plots to time travel to absurdism to human cloning.

If you want to dive into Churchill's canon, I recommend starting with her 1980s hit "Top Girls" which opens with an iconic dinner party scene bringing together prominent women from different periods of history.

2. Tom Stoppard

The Stoppard work you're most likely familiar with is his absurdist comedy "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" which focuses on the adventures of two minor characters from Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Fun fact: This play also served as the loose inspiration for Disney's "The Lion King 1½".

Stoppard's works share a distinctly academic and historical style, that manages to make even the topics of 19th century poetry, Latin translations, and scientific chaos theory feel witty, romantic, and entertaining.

If you're looking for a challenging but rewarding taste of Stoppard's style to check out, I recommend picking up a copy of his 1993 play "Arcadia" which expertly weaves together two different timelines to unravel a mysterious relationship between a young student and her tutor.

3. David Hare


David Hare's plays are the perfect fit for anyone with a passion for politics and current affairs. His 1978 work "Plenty" presents England as a land of disillusion following the end of WWII and harshly criticizes the British government's disastrous, corrupt involvement in the Suez-Crisis.

He also generated controversy in the early 1990s with a three-part political trilogy of plays, "Racing Demon," "Murmuring Judges," and "The Absence of War" that together examined the flaws of the British electoral and court systems.

Hare has also written widely for both film and television, and in 2013 he received two Academy Award nominations for his screenplay adaption of "The Hours," starring Meryl Streep, Juliane Moore, and Nicole Kidman.

4. Sarah Kane

A founder of what prominent English theatre critic Aleks Sierz dubs "In-Yer-Face Theatre," Sarah Kane transformed the world of British drama in the mid-90s with plays that sought to shock crowds through explosive, surreal representations of emotional pain and physical violence.

Kane combines raw, blunt dialogue with intensely psychologically brutal scenarios. As both a playwright and poet, she strived to confront rather than comfort viewers by drawing parallels between fiction and the real-life horrors of warfare and abuse.

Her first work, "Blasted," stunned audiences upon its initial release, notably featuring a scene where a domestic abuser is blinded by an enemy soldier and later eats the body of a dead infant in order to fend off starvation.

Tragically, Kane's rising career was cut short when she committed suicide in 1999, but the body of work she leaves behind is nothing less than a political masterpiece.

5. Camilla Whitehall

By far the least well-known of the playwrights on this list, I wanted to bring attention to the touching and powerful voice of feminist storyteller, Camilla Whitehall. Last December, I had the pleasure of seeing the premiere of her first major production "Where Do Little Birds Go?" at London's tiny Old Red Theatre and it was one of the most fascinating pieces of live theatre I've ever seen


Based on the real-life story of Lisa Prescott, a young hostess kidnapped by the notorious Kray Twins in December 1966 and forced to serve as a sex-slave for the escaped convict Frank “The Mad Axeman” Mitchell, Whitehall’s show gave an overlooked woman a voice through an hour-long monologue where the main character recounts her journey into prostitution and eventual captivity. Whitehall’s script refreshingly showcases Lucy as a person rather than a victim, finally allowing her a stage to tell her story and her own ‘moment in the spotlight’ in the form of a one-woman cabaret. So far, Whitehall has only authored or co-authored three full works, but I guarantee she is definitely a rising star to watch and will gain a much wider audience over the next few years.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

10 Thoughts Of A 5th Year Senior

What about those of us who don't do it all in four years?

522
college shirt
pointsincase.com

"College will be the best four years of your life" is a phrase that we have all heard growing up. College is painted as a magical place to us while we are in high school. A place you go to learn, meet your best friends and probably have the time of your life while all of this is going down. Four whirlwind years, where everything that you've known changes and you start to learn what it means to live on your own, have a job, etc. But what about those of us who don't do this all in four years? Major changes, hard courses, switching schools, career paths changing, these are just a handful of factors that could extend your four years to five, six or seven. There is nothing wrong with taking extra time to graduate, but returning as a fifth-year is a little different. Most of your best friends have most likely graduated and moved and while you may be one of the oldest undergraduates on campus, you might feel as awkward as a freshmen. A world that became home and comfortable to you is still there but it's slightly different than you've known it to be and you have to find a groove to fall into. These are thoughts you'll have as you look ahead to returning to your college campus, with a victory lap planned.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

11 Times Aubrey Plaza Described Sophomore Year

"I don't want to do things. I want to do not things."

336
Aubrey Plaza
Flickr Creative Commons

Aubrey Plaza is one of my favorite humans in Hollywood. She's honest, blunt, unapologetic, and hilarious. I just started my sophomore year of college, and found that some of her best moments can accurately describe the start of the school year.

1. When your advisor tells you that you should declare a major soon.

2. Seeing the lost and confused freshmen and remembering that was you a short year ago, and now being grateful you know the ins and outs of the campus.

3. Going to the involvement fair to sign up for more clubs knowing that you are already too involved.

4. When you actually do the reading required for the first class.

5. Seeing your friends for the first time since last semester.

6. When you're already drowning in homework during syllabus week.

7. Realizing you don't have the same excitement for classes as you did as a freshman.

8. Going home and seeing people from high school gets weirder the older you get.

Keep Reading...Show less
graduation

Things you may not realize are different between high school and college:

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

20 Things You Forgot To Thank Your Mom For

Moms are super heroes dressed in yesterday's clothing and they deserve an award for that.

1602
family
Facebook

Dear Mom,

You took care of me and my brothers our entire lives and you still continue to! I will not be able to truly grasp all of the hard work that you put into this family until I create my own one day. But, I know that there are plenty of times I forgot to give you a simple thank you or an appreciative smile. I thank you for everything that you have done for me and will continue to do for me. Here are some examples of those times where you had my back and I forgot to pat your back for saving me:

Keep Reading...Show less
pumpkin
Holytaco.com

College is hard. As people ages 18-22, we’re just trying to figure out what we’re doing with our lives, our careers, our eating habits, exercise routines, sleep patterns, and other necessities for adult life. We definitely don’t take proper care of ourselves; it’s basically impossible when we have essays, tests and readings due and somehow we’re supposed to eat right, exercise and sleep. We’re doomed to get sick. I have zero experience in science but when I get sick there are certain things I do to make myself better.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments