Title: Cloud 9
Author: Caryl Churchill
First published January 1, 1979
88 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9781559360999 (ISBN10: 1559360992)
Rating: 3.62
Overview
Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill takes readers on a journey through the complexities of relationships, power dynamics, and sexuality. Set in colonial Africa, a British family struggles with their own repression while attempting to subjugate the native population.
Fast forward 25 years and the family finds themselves in London in the midst of the 1970s sexual revolution. Churchill explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and class in a thought-provoking and entertaining way.
With themes ranging from politics to motherhood, Cloud 9 is a timeless play that has captivated audiences around the globe since its premiere in 1979.
About the Author
Caryl Churchill, born on September 3, 1938, is a prominent English dramatist who is widely known for her use of non-traditional techniques and feminist themes in her plays. Her works explore the abuse of power and sexual politics, making her one of the most influential writers in world theatre.
Churchill’s early writing was influenced by Bertolt Brecht’s modernist style of ‘Epic theatre,’ which she used to delve into issues of gender and sexuality. Later, she experimented with dance-theatre and incorporated techniques from Antonin Artaud’s ‘Theatre of Cruelty,’ moving towards a postmodernist narrative style characterized by surrealism and fragmentation.
Churchill has received several awards and prizes, including the Obie Award for Playwriting for Cloud Nine (1981) and Top Girls (1982), the Laurence Olivier/BBC Award for Best New Play for Serious Money (1988), and induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010.
Churchill has written numerous plays, including Downstairs (1958), Owners (1972), Top Girls (1982), and Far Away (2000). Her works also include translations of Seneca’s tragedy Thyestes (2001) and August Strindberg’s play A Dream Play (2005).
Seven Jewish Children – a play for Gaza (2009) is one of her most famous works.
Editoral Review
Cloud 9, by Caryl Churchill, is a landmark feminist play, first published in 1979. Churchill is a prominent British playwright, known for her experimentation with form and her outspoken political agenda.
Cloud 9 is a prime example of her innovative style and her commitment to social justice. Set in different time periods, the play explores themes of gender, sexuality, imperialism, and colonialism.
The first act is set in colonial Africa, in the late 19th century, and depicts a British family struggling to maintain their power and privilege, while dealing with their own repressed desires and identities. The second act is set in London, in the late 1970s, and shows how the same characters have evolved and adapted to the changing social mores of their time, but still struggle with their own limitations and prejudices.
The play’s structure is deliberately fragmented and nonlinear, playing with ideas of time, identity, and performance. The characters are a mix of stereotypes and subversions, as Churchill challenges the audience’s expectations and assumptions about gender and sexuality.
Despite its historical context, Cloud 9 remains relevant and resonant today, as it exposes the ways in which power is constructed and maintained through systems of oppression and conformity. It invites the audience to question their own assumptions and biases, and to consider alternative ways of being and relating.
Churchill’s writing is sharp, witty, and compassionate, as she weaves together different threads of narrative and perspective. The play’s pacing and structure can be challenging at times, but ultimately rewarding, as it forces the audience to actively engage with the material and build their own interpretations.
Cloud 9 is a must-read for anyone interested in feminism, theater, or social justice. It is a landmark work of contemporary drama, and Churchill’s voice remains as relevant and urgent as ever.
The play may not be for everyone, but for those willing to take the journey, it offers a profound and thought-provoking experience.
