Winsome Pinnock

Winsome Pinnock

FRSL
Born1961 (age 63–64)
Islington, London, England
OccupationPlaywright
LanguageEnglish
NationalityBritish
EducationElizabeth Garrett Anderson School
Alma materGoldsmiths, University of London
Notable worksLeave Taking; Talking in Tongues; Mules
Notable awardsGeorge Devine Award
Alfred Fagon Award
Windham-Campbell Literature Prize

Winsome Pinnock FRSL (born 1961) is a British playwright of Jamaican heritage, who is "probably Britain's most well known black female playwright".[1] She was described in The Guardian as "the godmother of black British playwrights".[2]

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.[3] Pinnock attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Comprehensive Girls' School (formerly Starcross School) in Islington, and graduated from Goldsmiths' College, University of London (1979–82) with a BA (Joint Honours) degree in English and Drama,[4] and in 1983 from Birkbeck College, University of London, with an MA degree in Modern Literature in English.[5]

Pinnock's award-winning plays include The Winds of Change (Half Moon Theatre, 1987), Leave Taking (Liverpool Playhouse Studio, 1988; National Theatre, 1995),[6] Picture Palace (commissioned by the Women's Theatre Group, 1988),[7] 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),[8] Talking in Tongues (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1991), Mules (Clean Break, 1996) and One Under (Tricycle Theatre, 2005).[9] She also adapted Jean Rhys' short story "Let Them Call It Jazz" for BBC Radio 4 in 1998, and has written screenplays and television episodes.[6] Pinnock's work is included in the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.

Pinnock has been Visiting Lecturer at Royal Holloway College, University of London, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge. She lectures at Kingston University, London.[5] In 2020, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).[10]

In 2022, Pinnock was the recipient of a Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for drama.[11]

Awards

Selected works

  • The Winds Of Change, Half Moon Theatre, London, 1987.
  • Leave Taking, Playhouse, Liverpool, and National Theatre, London, 1988. Bush Theatre, May 2018.[15]
  • Picture Palace, Women's Theatre Group, London, 1988.
  • A Rock In Water, Royal Court Young People's Theatre at the Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1989.[16] 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, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1996
  • Can You Keep a Secret?, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, London, 1999
  • Water, Tricycle Theatre, London, 2000.
  • One Under, Tricycle Theatre, London, 2005.
  • IDP, Tricycle Theatre, London, 2006[17]
  • Taken, Soho Theatre, London, 2010.
  • Her Father's Daughter, BBC Radio 4.
  • The Dinner Party, BBC Radio 4.
  • Lazarus, BBC Radio 3, 2013.
  • The Principles of Cartography, Bush Theatre, 2017.
  • Rockets and Blue Lights, 2018

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Goddard, Lynette (2004). "West Indies vs England in Winsome Pinnock's Migration Narratives". Contemporary Theatre Review. 14 (4): 23–33. doi:10.1080/10486800412331296291. S2CID 191553025.
  2. ^ Kolawole, Helen (26 July 2003). "Look who's taking the stage". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Dowd, Vincent (18 March 2020). "The playwright spotlighting Britain's black history". BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  4. ^ Bartholomew, Roy (23 April 1996). "A bare shoulder to cry on". The Independent.
  5. ^ a b Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University London.
  6. ^ a b Nicola, Abram (2015). "Looking Back: Winsome Pinnock's Politics of Representation". In Brewer, Mary F.; Lynette Goddard; Deirdre Osborne (eds.). Modern and Contemporary Black British Drama. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 95–111. ISBN 9781137506290.
  7. ^ Aston, Elaine (2003). Feminist Views on the English Stage: Women Playwrights, 1990-2000. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-521-80003-7.
  8. ^ Peacock, D. Keith, "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.
  9. ^ "Winsome Pinnock", Drama Online.
  10. ^ a b "Winsome Pinnock". RSL. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  11. ^ Brown, Lauren (29 March 2022). "Jefferson, Dangarembga and Pinnock among winners of Windham-Campbell Prizes". The Bookseller. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  12. ^ "2018 Award", Alfred Fagon Award.
  13. ^ Snow, Georgia (9 November 2018). "Winsome Pinnock wins 2018 Alfred Fagon Award"". The Stage.
  14. ^ "Winsome Pinnock". Windham-Campbell Prizes. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  15. ^ Leave Taking at Bush Theatre (24 May–30 June 2018).
  16. ^ "Rock In Water, A". National Theatre Black Plays Archive. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  17. ^ Winsome Pinnock page at Doolee.com.

Sources