Winsome Pinnock

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(born 1961) is a British

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n heritage, who is "probably Britain's most well known black female playwright". She was described in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as "the godmother of black British playwrights".

Life

Winsome Pinnock was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

, to parents who were both migrants from Smithville, Jamaica. Her mother was a cleaner, and her father a checker at

Smithfield Meat Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartho ...

. Pinnock attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Comprehensive Girls' School (formerly Starcross School) in Islington, and graduated from

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

(1979–82) with a BA (Joint Honours) degree in English and Drama, and in 1983 from

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

, University of London, with an MA degree in Modern Literature in English.Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Kingston University London. Pinnock's award-winning plays include ''The Winds of Change'' (

Half Moon Theatre The Half Moon Theatre Company was formed in 1972 in a rented synagogue in Alie Street, Whitechapel, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ''Half Moon Passage'' was the name of a nearby alley. The founders, Michael Irving and Maurice Colbourn ...

, 1987), ''Leave Taking'' ( Liverpool Playhouse Studio, 1988; National Theatre, 1995), ''Picture Palace'' (commissioned by the Women's Theatre Group, 1988), ''A Hero's Welcome'' (Women's Playhouse Trust at the

Royal Court Theatre Upstairs The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

, 1989), ''A Rock in Water'' (Royal Court Young People's Theatre at the Theatre Upstairs, 1989; inspired by the life of

Claudia Jones Claudia Vera Jones (; 21 February 1915 – 24 December 1964) was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the US, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and black national ...

), ''Talking in Tongues'' (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1991), ''Mules'' ( Clean Break, 1996) and ''One Under'' (Tricycle Theatre, 2005). She also adapted

Jean Rhys Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a British novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she mainly resided in England, where she was sent for her ...

' short story "Let Them Call It Jazz" for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

in 1998, and has written screenplays and television episodes. Pinnock's work is included in the 2019 anthology ''

New Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

. Pinnock has been Visiting Lecturer at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, University of London, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She lectures at

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

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

Awards

*1991:

George Devine Award George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

*Unity Theatre Trust Award *Pearson Plays on Stage Award For Best Play of the Year *2018:

Alfred Fagon Award The Alfred Fagon Award is granted annually for the best new play by a Black British playwright of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1996 and first awarded in 1997, to recognise the work of Black Br ...

*2022: Windham-Campbell Literature Prize (drama)

Selected works

*''The Winds Of Change'',

, London, 1987. *''Leave Taking'', Playhouse, Liverpool, and National Theatre, London, 1988.

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a spa ...

, May 2018. *''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 The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

, London, 1989. Published i
''Black Plays: 2''
ed.

Yvonne Brewster Yvonne Jones Brewster (née Clarke; born 7 October 1938) is a Jamaican actress, theatre director and businesswoman, known for her role as Ruth Harding in the BBC television soap opera ''Doctors''. She co-founded the theatre companies Talawa in ...

, 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, *''Mules'', Clean Break, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1996 *''Can You Keep a Secret?'',

Cottesloe Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

, National Theatre, London, 1999 *''Water'',

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

, London, 2000. *''One Under'', Tricycle Theatre, London, 2005. *''IDP'', Tricycle Theatre, London, 2006Winsome Pinnock page
at Doolee.com. *''Taken'',

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

, London, 2010. *''Her Father's Daughter'',

. *''The Dinner Party'', BBC Radio 4. *''Lazarus'',

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, 2013. *''The Principles of Cartography'',

, 2017. *''Rockets and Blue Lights'', 2018

References

Sources

*
"Bibliography: Winsome Pinnock", ''Contemporary Theatre and Drama in English''IDP - A play by Winsome Pinnock

Winsome Pinnock
at Black Plays Archive, National Theatre.

External links