Saturday 6 March 2010

Owners by Caryl Churchill: Review UPDATE


Caryl Churchill is one of the UKs greatest female playwrights and even today still garners controversy for her political views and work. Praise follows her and her reputation due to the huge success of 'Top Girls' has been secured in the annals of Theatrical and English history. Today I am looking at the first play Churchill presented at the Royal Court Theatre in 1972 'Owners'. Last week LibraryGirl and I decided to go through our massive play collection and our first stop was Churchill Plays: One. In her description of the development of the piece Churchill describes her inspiration coming from being with an old woman who had a young man turn up at the flat and offering her money to move. This was her catalyst for writing the play and the character Worsely.

Set in 6 very simple locations with a cast of only 9 (two of which can be played by SM's) this is a very simple piece to stage, and with the plot revolving around 4 main characters its a very simple play to follow. The characters are very interesting and whilst they can come across at times as simplistic or just plain crude they hold a lot of interest for me. When we began reading through the piece I felt that the characters came across as a bit hollow and lacking, although as we got further in I came to find certain characters to be extremely interesting. Clegg, a butcher married to Marion, is a grotesque man who conjures up images of the League of Gentlemens Hilary Briss but with an obsession of having a son to continue his business in his image. Alec, husband of Lisa and lover of Marion, holds a lot of interest for me. He is to me the opposite of Osbornes 'Angry Young Man' in that instead of being angry he is passive and morose, he seems to be unaffected by anything that happens around him. Marion is the central character and is a great early example of equal female businesswomen in plays. Marion doesn't just run your stereotypical female business, hairdresser, beauty salon etc no she runs her own property company as an estate agent in many ways. A strong powerful woman she very much cuckolds her husband Clegg, something he accepts yet hates, starts love affairs, pursues property ruthlessly and ultimately buys someone elses child. If this woman wants something she gets it. Then there is my favourite character, Worsley. Worsley is a suicidal estate agent who in my mind is in love with Marion and because he is puts up with her behaviour. Whilst this play is very dark in many places Worsley uses that darkness to produce some very good belly laughs as he talks about his attempts at ending his own life.

The story itself is very simple and it flows really well and doesn't seem too long. Its succinct and to the point. What is so interesting about this piece is that it was written in 1972 but its issues and story could easily have come from the 80s, 90s and even today in our pre and post recession society. This book is an indictment of capitalism and how money is not able to buy you everything in the end but it can open doors to purchasing  desired items. I found myself rereading the play and seeing the direct way you could link this in with todays recession and in many ways this play could be seen as a historical document about how the post Empire UK lost its international wealth and how its credit and housing markets have constantly caused problems with too few people controlling too much money.

Churchill has never been my favourite writer mainly because I marginalised her as a feminist writer. This is something I believe that has been a label put upon her by people who read and studied 'Top Girls'. However I really am looking forward to reading the next play in Churchill Plays: One 'Vinegar Tom' because I really enjoyed 'Owners' and because I know Churchill even today is pushing buttons with her work. Last year a piece she wrote for the Royal Court was condenmed by the Board of Deputies of British Jews as being anti semetic. Despite only being 10 minutes long this play has caused a lot of controversy. How can you not respect a woman who has been writing for 50 years and can still touch a nerve with her work? I look forward to continuing my reading of her work and hope to one day put Owners on myself.

Until then here is my adaptation of Worsleys final monologue in Owners.

UPDATE: Here is my treatment of Owners and how I would go about putting on the show. If you're interested please follow this link here.




No comments:

Post a Comment