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

Selected works

Further reading

References

  1. 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. 2.0 2.1 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University London.
  3. Elaine Aston (2003). Feminist Views on the English Stage: Women Playwrights, 1990-2000. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-521-80003-7.
  4. 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.
  5. "Winsome Pinnock", Drama Online.
  6. Winsome Pinnock page at Doolee.com

Sources

External links