Charlotte Keatley
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Keatley is an English playwright. She studied drama at the Victoria University of Manchester
and as a postgraduate at the University of Leeds
. She has worked as a journalist for Performance magazine, the Yorkshire Post, the Financial Times
and the BBC
. She co-devised and performed in Dressing for Dinner, staged at the Theatre Workshop, Leeds, in 1983, and set up the performance art company, Royal Balle, in 1984.
Her first play, My Mother Said I Never Should
, which she wrote in 1985, was first performed at the Contact Theatre
, Manchester, in 1987, and won both the Royal Court/George Devine Award and the Manchester Evening News
Theatre Award for Best New Play. The play was revised for a successful run at the Royal Court Theatre
in 1989, and in 1990 she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier
Most Promising Newcomer Award.
My Mother Said I Never Should was published in the UK by Methuen in 1988, and has been studied as an A-level set text for a number of years. It has subsequently been translated into 22 languages and has become the most performed play in the English language written by a woman.
Waiting for Martin, a short monologue about the Falklands War
, was produced by the English Shakespeare Company
in 1987.
Charlotte Keatley was Judith E. Wilson Fellow in English at Cambridge University in 1989 and Writer in Residence for the New York Stage and Film Company in 1991. Later that year she co-directed at the Edinburgh Festival
the first stage adaptation of Heathcote Williams
' hefty polemical poem Autogeddon. It won an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First award.
She wrote the screenplay to Falling Slowly, for Channel 4
television, and the children's drama, Badger, for Granada television. Her work for radio includes ten episodes of the BBC series Citizens, the play Is Green The Same For You (1989), and an adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's novel North and South.
In 2003, Charlotte Keatley was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company
to write an epic play set in Georgia
and the Caucasus
entitled All the Daughters of War.
More recently, a modern revival of My Mother Said I Never Should premiered on 29 September 2009 at Watford Palace Theatre
. It was also revived at Duke's Playhouse
in Lancaster in February 2010.
My Mother Said I Never Should will be performed at The Bridewell Theatre, off Fleet Street, London from Tues 26th to Saturday 30 October 2010. See the Tower Theatre Company website for details.
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
and as a postgraduate at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. She has worked as a journalist for Performance magazine, the Yorkshire Post, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. She co-devised and performed in Dressing for Dinner, staged at the Theatre Workshop, Leeds, in 1983, and set up the performance art company, Royal Balle, in 1984.
Her first play, My Mother Said I Never Should
My Mother Said I Never Should
My Mother Said I Never Should is a play in three acts by Charlotte Keatley. directed by Michael Attenborough and Brigid LarmourMy Mother Said I Never Should was written in 1985 and was first produced at the Contact Theatre in Manchester on 25 February 1987...
, which she wrote in 1985, was first performed at the Contact Theatre
Contact Theatre
-Contact:Contact is a multi-disciplinary arts venue in Manchester. Originally a traditional theatre Contact was rebranded in 1999 as a space specialising in producing work and providing opportunities for young people.-History:...
, Manchester, in 1987, and won both the Royal Court/George Devine Award and the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
Theatre Award for Best New Play. The play was revised for a successful run at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in 1989, and in 1990 she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
Most Promising Newcomer Award.
My Mother Said I Never Should was published in the UK by Methuen in 1988, and has been studied as an A-level set text for a number of years. It has subsequently been translated into 22 languages and has become the most performed play in the English language written by a woman.
Waiting for Martin, a short monologue about the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, was produced by the English Shakespeare Company
English Shakespeare Company
The English Shakespeare Company was an English theatre company founded in 1986 by Michael Bogdanov and Michael Pennington to present and promote the works of William Shakespeare on both a national and an international level....
in 1987.
Charlotte Keatley was Judith E. Wilson Fellow in English at Cambridge University in 1989 and Writer in Residence for the New York Stage and Film Company in 1991. Later that year she co-directed at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
the first stage adaptation of Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams is an English poet, actor and award-winning playwright. He is also an intermittent painter, sculptor and long-time conjuror...
' hefty polemical poem Autogeddon. It won an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First award.
She wrote the screenplay to Falling Slowly, for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television, and the children's drama, Badger, for Granada television. Her work for radio includes ten episodes of the BBC series Citizens, the play Is Green The Same For You (1989), and an adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's novel North and South.
In 2003, Charlotte Keatley was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
to write an epic play set in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
entitled All the Daughters of War.
More recently, a modern revival of My Mother Said I Never Should premiered on 29 September 2009 at Watford Palace Theatre
Watford Palace Theatre
Watford Palace Theatre, opened in 1908, is an Edwardian Grade II listed building on Clarendon Road, Watford.- Refurbishment :In September 2004 the theatre re-opened after a two year £8.8million Lottery funded refurbishment, which included more public space, two bars, a daytime café, air cooling and...
. It was also revived at Duke's Playhouse
Duke's Playhouse
The Dukes in Lancaster, England, formerly known as the Duke's Playhouse, is a professional producing theatre, currently producing six theatre productions a year. It also hosts outside companies and arts festivals. It has two auditoria, the larger seating approximately 313 and a newly refurbished...
in Lancaster in February 2010.
My Mother Said I Never Should will be performed at The Bridewell Theatre, off Fleet Street, London from Tues 26th to Saturday 30 October 2010. See the Tower Theatre Company website for details.
External links
- British Council Contemporary Writers http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth195
- Writernet Biographies http://www.writernet.co.uk/php/press.php?id=318&item=1594