Quantcast

Sophie Thompson & Sam Spruell in Clybourne Park
Sophie Thompson & Sam Spruell in Clybourne Park

Clybourne Park Scoops Pulitzer Drama Prize

Date: 19 April 2011

Bruce Norris' Olivier Award-winning drama Clybourne Park, which continues its West End run at the Wyndham's Theatre until 7 May 2011, has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Written in response to Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun Norris's piece received its world premiere at New York's off-Broadway house Playwrights Horizons in February 2010 before playing a sell-out season at the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 2 September 2010 (previews from 26 August) to 2 October. It transferred to the West End on 8 February 2011 (previews from 28 January 2011) and scooped the Critics' Circle, South Bank and Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play.

Clybourne Park considers the development of attitudes towards race over time by juxtaposing the problems faced by Russ and Bev, a white couple selling their home to a black family in 1959, with the issues encountered by Lindsey and Steve, a couple trying to raze and rebuild the same house in 2009.

The West End cast includes Stephen Campbell Moore, who plays the role originated by Martin Freeman in the play’s premiere season. The company also includes Stuart McQuarrie and original cast members Lorna Brown, Sarah Goldberg, Michael Goldsmith, Lucian Msamati, Sam Spruell and Sophie Thompson.

The play was one of three finalists for the drama Pulitzer, which were founded in 1917 named after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and are awarded for excellence in 21 categories across journalism and the arts. The other plays in contention were Lisa D'Amour's Detroit and A Free Man of Color by John Guare.

The production reunites Norris with Dominic Cooke, who launched his reign as artistic director of the Royal Court in 2007 with the UK premiere of another Norris satire, The Pain and the Itch. His other works include The Infidel and A Parallelogram which both premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre.

Clybourne Park is designed by Robert Innes Hopkins, with lighting by Paule Constable and sound by David McSeveney. It’s produced in the West End by Royal Court Theatre Productions with Sonia Friedman Productions and Old Vic Productions.

Following Clybourne Park at the Wyndham's Josie Rourke's production of Much Ado About Nothing starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate opens on 1 June (previews from 16 May 2011).

- by Andrew Girvan

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
Clybourne Park Listing Page
Clybourne Park Listing Page
Much Ado About Nothing Listing Page
Internal Links
With Much Ado has Digital Theatre come of age? - 1st Feb 2012 features
Rat Pack Spends West End Xmas & New Year at Wyndham’s - 28th Jul 2011 news
Review Round-up: Rourke Reunites Tardis Team - 2nd Jun 2011 news
Debo Demurs while Josie Jives - 2nd Jun 2011 blog
Much Ado About Nothing (Wyndham's) starstarstar - 2nd Jun 2011 reviews
1st Night Photos: Tennant & Tate Open Much Ado - 2nd Jun 2011 photos
Opening: Much Ado, Wilton's Hands, Bollywood - 31st May 2011 news
Photos: Tennant & Tate in Wyndham's Much Ado - 31st May 2011 photos
Top Five: Summer Shakespeares - 21st Apr 2011 features
Cast: Tennant & Tate Much Ado, Mamet Double - 5th Apr 2011 news
Josie Rourke Takes Over Donmar from Grandage - 11th Mar 2011 news
WOS Outing Tackles Race & Memory in the Park - 1st Mar 2011 blog
1st Night Photos: Clybourne Parks at Wyndham’s - 9th Feb 2011 photos
Clybourne Park starstarstar - 9th Feb 2011 reviews
Opening: Vernon, Knightley Hour, Heretic, Ordinary - 6th Feb 2011 news
Dench & Clybourne Scoop South Bank Awards - 25th Jan 2011 news
Campbell Moore Joins West End Clybourne Cast - 11th Jan 2011 news
Photos: Tennant & Tate Reunited for Much Ado - 10th Jan 2011 news
David Tennant & Catherine Tate Star in Much Ado - 8th Jan 2011 news
Plays Cast: Clybourne, New Women, McCoy Fall - 16th Nov 2010 news
Court Premieres New Work by Bean & Stephens - 16th Nov 2010 news
Court's Clybourne Transfers to Wyndham’s, 8 Feb - 29th Sep 2010 news
Clybourne Park Races into West End Transfer??? - 6th Sep 2010 gossip
Review Round-up: Clybourne Enters Race & Wins - 3rd Sep 2010 roundup
Martin Freeman Returns to Court for Clybourne - 13th Jul 2010 news
Cooke & Norris Reunite for Clybourne at Court - 9th Jun 2010 news


Reader Comments


CommentDate
Saw this at the Royal Court. Brilliant play! It's so rare these days to see something so hilarious, even more rare for that something to have such substance (interrogating racial politics), and still more rare for a comic work to receive critical plaudits. A well deserved award! - Steve

19 Apr 11


Write a Comment
Give us your opinion on this entry
Comment:
Name:
Required, will appear on website
Email:
Required, will not appear on website
Confirm: Please type in
Please enter this number > SEVENTY-EIGHT < Just the two digits only, without any spaces.

Free Newsletter

Subscribe to our free newsletter


Featured Video

Twitter

Featured Editor's Picks

Infographic: The economic impact of Arts & Culture in the UK
When Culture Secretary Maria Miller called for the arts to make their "economic case" for subsidy, t...

Bonnie WrightPlays Cast: Harry Potter star in Southwark Moment, more for Branagh's Macbeth
Bonnie Wright, best known for playing Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films, will make her stage d...

Ben Turner as Amir & Farshid Rokey as Hassan in <i>The Kite Runner</i>. Photo by Robert DayBrief Encounter with ... The Kite Runner's Ben Turner
Ben Turner stars in the stage version of the bestselling book The Kite Runner, which runs at Liverpo...

Stephen Boxer as Titus AndronicusTitus Andronicus (RSC)
starstarstar
This latest production of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, to borrow from football punditry, is a p...

Regent's Park Open Air TheatreTake Five: Britain's outdoor theatres
With half-term approaching, the weather (hopefully) set to improve for the bank holiday weekend and ...

West End Live in actionWest End Live returns to Trafalgar Square next month
West End Live, a weekend of free entertainment from top London shows, will return to Trafalgar Squar...

Robert Sean Leonard as Atticus FinchRobert Sean Leonard: 'I carry the ghost of Gregory Peck on my shoulders'
Actor Robert Sean Leonard is currently playing Atticus Finch in Timothy Sheader's production of To K...

Robert Sean Leonard & Eleanor Worthing-CoxTo Kill A Mockingbird
starstarstarstar
Twenty years ago, a young Robert Sean Leonard appeared on the London stage with Alan Alda in...

X Factor musical titled I Can't Sing!, opens Palladium March 2014
The forthcoming X Factor musical will be called I Can't Sing! The Musical and will premiere at the L...

Tom Hiddleston. Photo: Dan WoollerDonmar stages Nick Payne premiere, Wesker's Roots & Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus
The Donmar Warehouse has announced its new season, which features the premiere of Nick Payne's new p...
>> More Editor's Picks
>> Most Recent Stories
>> Most Popular Stories

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Google Plus YouTube