Joanna Laurens
Encyclopedia
Joanna Laurens is an English playwright.
Although born in Bristol
, Laurens grew up in Jersey
. She studied French horn at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
before leaving the course to read English at Queen's University of Belfast
.
Her published output to date consists of three plays and she has also written for radio.
Laurens' first play was The Three Birds. She wrote the play while a student at Queen's, where it was given a public reading. The Three Birds opened at the Gate Theatre, London, in October 2000, and was directed by Rebecca Gatward. The play won Laurens the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Most Promising Playwright and the Time Out award for Most Outstanding New Talent. The play also received the Best New Play award from the German government's Cultural Committee and Laurens was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
Five Gold Rings, Laurens' second play opened at the Almeida Theatre
in December 2003 and was directed by Michael Attenborough
. It was followed by Poor Beck, which opened in 2004 at The Other Place
in a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company
, directed by Daniel Fish
Laurens has occaionally been mentioned in relation to Sarah Kane
. Michael Billington
in The Guardian
referred to Laurens as "the most original theatrical voice to have emerged since Sarah Kane". Lyn Gardner in the Guardian also compared Laurens to Kane: "Laurens writes with such murderous beauty that you are put in mind of the late Sarah Kane". Laurens has resisted this alignment, saying "I don't see much comparison".
Critics have also highlighted the 'laboured' and 'immature' quality of her poetry, whilst her lack of production or publication for five years, as of late 2009, has led many in the British theatre to reconsider their initial trumpeting of her.
Laurens' work has been more widely produced on the continent than in the UK, receiving particular attention in Germany. She has been writer in residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company
, writer on attachment to the Royal National Theatre
Studio and recipient of the Pearson Award.
Although born in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Laurens grew up in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. She studied French horn at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
before leaving the course to read English at Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
.
Career
Joanna Laurens' plays deal with themes of frustrated sexual desire, love, longing and death. They are characterised by an intense lyricism and a linguistic and poetic experimentation and are often written in blank verse. Using non-naturalistic language, her work is at variance with the naturalism of much 20th Century English theatre and has divided critical opinion.Her published output to date consists of three plays and she has also written for radio.
Laurens' first play was The Three Birds. She wrote the play while a student at Queen's, where it was given a public reading. The Three Birds opened at the Gate Theatre, London, in October 2000, and was directed by Rebecca Gatward. The play won Laurens the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Most Promising Playwright and the Time Out award for Most Outstanding New Talent. The play also received the Best New Play award from the German government's Cultural Committee and Laurens was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
Five Gold Rings, Laurens' second play opened at the Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
in December 2003 and was directed by Michael Attenborough
Michael Attenborough
The Hon. Michael John Attenborough is a successful English theatre director. His parents are the actors Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough and Sheila Sim, Lady Attenborough...
. It was followed by Poor Beck, which opened in 2004 at The Other Place
The Other Place
The Other Place may refer to:* The Other Place , a 1999 young adult novel* The Other Place, a collection of short stories by J. B...
in a production 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...
, directed by Daniel Fish
Laurens has occaionally been mentioned in relation to Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
. Michael Billington
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
referred to Laurens as "the most original theatrical voice to have emerged since Sarah Kane". Lyn Gardner in the Guardian also compared Laurens to Kane: "Laurens writes with such murderous beauty that you are put in mind of the late Sarah Kane". Laurens has resisted this alignment, saying "I don't see much comparison".
Critics have also highlighted the 'laboured' and 'immature' quality of her poetry, whilst her lack of production or publication for five years, as of late 2009, has led many in the British theatre to reconsider their initial trumpeting of her.
Laurens' work has been more widely produced on the continent than in the UK, receiving particular attention in Germany. She has been writer in residence at 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...
, writer on attachment to the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
Studio and recipient of the Pearson Award.