Winsome Pinnock
Winsome Pinnock (born 1961) is an award-winning British playwright of Jamaican heritage, who is "probably Britain's most well known black female playwright".[1]
Life
Winsome Pinnock was born in Islington, North London, to parents who were both migrants from Smithville, Jamaica. Her mother was a cleaner and her father a checker at Smithfield Meat Market. Pinnock attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Comprehensive Girls' School (formerly Starcross School) in Islington and graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London (1979-82), with a BA (Joint Honours) in English and Drama and from Birkbeck, University of London (1983), with an MA in Modern Literature in English.[2]
Pinnock's award-winning plays include The Wind of Change (Half Moon Theatre, 1987), Leave Taking (Liverpool Playhouse Studio and National Theatre, 1988), Picture Palace (commissioned by the Women's Theatre Group, 1988),[3] A Hero's Welcome (Women's Playhouse Trust at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1989), A Rock in Water (Royal Court Young People's Theatre at the Theatre Upstairs, 1989; inspired by the life of Claudia Jones),[4] Talking in Tongues (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1991), Mules (Clean Break Theatre Company, 1996) and One Under (Tricycle Theatre, 2005).[5]
Pinnock has been Visiting Lecturer at Royal Holloway College, and Senior Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University. She lectures at Kingston University, London.[2] Whilst at university, she continues her inspirational teachings and informed opinions through the use of intelligent and inimitable methods. Students have described her as: "A fantastic writer who is a pleasure to work with."
Awards
- 1991 George Devine Award
- Unity Theatre Trust Award
- Pearson Plays on Stage Award For Best Play of the Year
Selected works
- The Winds Of Change, Half Moon Theatre, London, 1987.
- Leave Taking, Playhouse, Liverpool, and National Theatre, 1988.
- Picture Palace, Women's Theatre Group, London, 1988.
- A Rock In Water, Royal Court Young People's Theatre at the Theatre Upstairs, London, 1989. Published in Black Plays: 2, ed. Yvonne Brewster, London: Methuen Drama, 1989.
- A Hero's Welcome, Women's Playhouse Trust at the Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1989.
- Talking In Tongues, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 1991. Published in The Methuen Drama Book of Plays by Black British Writers, Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2011, ISBN 978-1408131244
- Mules, Clean Break Theatre Company, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1996
- Untitled, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, London, 1999
- Water, Tricycle Theatre, London, 2000.
- One Under, Tricycle Theatre, London, 2005.
- IDP, Tricycle Theatre, London, 2006[6]
- Taken, Soho Theatre, London, 2010.
- Her Father's Daughter, BBC Radio 4.
- The Dinner Party, BBC Radio 4.
- Lazarus, BBC Radio 3, 2013.
Further reading
- Michael Earley, Philippa Keil, ed. (1995). "Talking in Tongues". The Contemporary Monologue: Women. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-87830-060-0.
References
- ↑ Lynette Goddard, "West Indies vs England in Winsome Pinnock's Migration narratives", Contemporary Theatre Review, Volume 14, Issue 4, 2004, pp. 23-33. DOI:10.1080/10486800412331296291
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University London.
- ↑ Elaine Aston (2003). Feminist Views on the English Stage: Women Playwrights, 1990-2000. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-521-80003-7.
- ↑ D. Keith Peacock, "Chapter 9: So People Know We're Here: Black Theatre in Britain" in Thatcher's Theatre: British Theatre and Drama in the Eighties, Greenwood Press, 1999, p. 179.
- ↑ "Winsome Pinnock", Drama Online.
- ↑ Winsome Pinnock page at Doolee.com
Sources
- Griffin, Gabrielle (2006), "The Remains of the British Empire: The Plays of Winsome Pinnock", in Luckhurst, Mary, A Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama, ISBN 978-1-4051-2228-3
- "Bibliography: Winsome Pinnock", Contemporary Theatre and Drama in English
- IDP - A play by Winsome Pinnock
External links
- Winsome Pinnock at IMDb.
- "Writer Winsome Pinnock on why she enjoyed writing Lazarus for radio", BBC Radio 3.
- "Something to be Reclaimed" (first published 1999). Jim Mulligan interviews Winsome Pinnock on Can You Keep a Secret? The collected interviews of Jim Mulligan.
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