This Is a Chair

by Caryl Churchill

A short play about the surreal nature of modern life. A play that is at once modern and postmodern, tragedy and farce, about all and about nothing. Caryl Churchill's  This is a Chair  was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre at the Duke of York’s, London, on 25 June 1997 as part of the London International Festival of Theatre.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, British Literature, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Caryl Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is an English dramatist known for her use of non-naturalistic techniques and feminist themes, dramatisation of the abuses of power, and exploration of sexual politics.[1] She is acknowledged as a major playwright in the English language and one of world theatre's most influential writers.

Her early work developed Bertolt Brecht's modernist dramatic and theatrical techniques of 'Epic theatre' to explore issues of gender and sexuality. From A Mouthful of Birds (1986) onwards, she began to experiment with forms of dance-theatre, incorporating techniques developed from the performance tradition initiated by Antonin Artaud with his 'Theatre of Cruelty'. This move away from a clear Fabel dramaturgy towards increasingly fragmented and surrealistic narratives characterises her work as postmodernist.

Prizes and awards

Churchill has received much recognition, including the following awards:

1958 Sunday Times/National Union of Students Drama Festival Award Downstairs
1961 Richard Hillary Memorial Prize
1981 Obie Award for Playwriting, Cloud Nine
1982 Obie Award for Playwriting, Top Girls
1983 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (runner-up), Top Girls
1984 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Fen
1987 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year, Serious Money
1987 Obie Award for Best New Play, Serious Money
1987 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Serious Money
1988 Laurence Olivier/BBC Award for Best New Play, Serious Money
2001 Obie Sustained Achievement Award
2010 Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Plays

Downstairs (1958)
You've No Need to be Frightened (1959?)
Having a Wonderful Time (1960)
Easy Death (1960)
The Ants, radio drama (1962)
Lovesick, radio drama (1969)
Identical Twins (1960)
Abortive, radio drama (1971)
Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen, radio drama (1971)
Owners (1972)
Schreber's Nervous Illness, radio drama (1972) – based on Memoirs of My Nervous Illness
The Hospital at the Time of the Revolution (written 1972)
The Judge's Wife, radio drama (1972)
Moving Clocks Go Slow, (1973)
Turkish Delight, television drama (1973)
Objections to Sex and Violence (1975)
Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976) [7]
Vinegar Tom (1976)
Traps (1976)
The After-Dinner Joke, television drama (1978)
Seagulls (written 1978)
Cloud Nine (1979)
Three More Sleepless Nights (1980)
Top Girls (1982)
Crimes, television drama (1982)
Fen (1983)
Softcops (1984)
A Mouthful of Birds (1986)
A Heart's Desire (1987)[18]
Serious Money (1987)
Ice Cream (1989)
Hot Fudge (1989)
Mad Forest (1990)
Lives of the Great Poisoners (1991)
The Skriker (1994)
Blue Heart (1997)
Hotel (1997)
This is a Chair (1999)
Far Away (2000)
Thyestes (2001) – translation of Seneca's tragedy
A Number (2002)
A Dream Play (2005) – translation of August Strindberg's play
Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (2006)
Seven Jewish Children – a play for Gaza (2009)
Love and Information (2012)
Ding Dong the Wicked (2013)
Here We Go (play) (2015)

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryl_Ch...

Reviews

[Mahtab Safdari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Is a Chair is a surreal, fragmented meditation on modern disconnection. Inspired by Rene Magritte, it juxtaposes domestic trivialities with weighty headlines, exposing how global crises fade into the background of everyday life. Each scene, prefaced by a news-style title, deepens the sense of urban alienation and self-absorption. The play’s disjointed structure and cerebral tone evoke both tragedy and farce, demanding audiences confront the absurdity of meaning itself.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I'm in the minority here--seemed like most readers understood and appreciated the concept but didn't enjoy the execution. I loved the concept and thought it was executed to perfection. I love the odd juxtapositions of major world news with the seeming minutiae that act as "big news" in our daily lives. While some are dealing with violence in Northern Ireland or ethnic wars in Bosnia, others are trying to get by with seemingly smaller concerns (a child who won't eat dinner, getting stood up on a date, or a sister on drugs). The play puts into poignant relief how small our lives can seem on the world stage and how ridiculous are our daily concerns. But I also think it works the other way. The things we're dealing with on a daily basis ARE big news to us in the moment and can temporarily eclipse "bigger news" in that particular moment in our lives. If contemporary theater's job is to provoke thought, emotion, and reaction in the audience, I'd say this small gem from Churchill succeeds on all counts.

[mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept, but the text itself is not the most exciting.
Still super interesting, though.

[_sapphosangel_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Tiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

HUH???

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most enjoyable evenings of theater I ever had was at a downtown production of Caryl Churchill's "Love and Information" (2012). With over 100 characters (performed by 15 actors), this mishmash of short scenes without a shared narrative was a thrilling revue showcasing points of connection in our rapid-fire culture. "This Is a Chair" (1999), which is very much cut from the same cloth, feels like a prototype for her later play, as if the playwright were simply testing out an idea before fully committing to it. Each scene comes with an incongruous title -- "The War in Bosnia," "Pornography and Censorship" -- then gives a quick peak into random lives. (Only one scene and its characters repeat.) The play has nowhere near the scale or power of its subsequent counterpart but it does share its spirit of fun even and tickles with bewilderment. You're also continually aware of Churchill's mastery of dialogue, as some conversations are primarily fragments while a more conventional exchange sounds patently absurd. Is it a great play? No, but Churchill's artistry is always at such a high level that even her sketches are worthy of being staged. And should be.

[Ed Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Caryl’s Churchill’s play ‘This is a Chair’ was so short I am debating even logging and reviewing it to count as a book I have read, though here I am writing a review so I suppose debate has decided itself. It was just a series of scenes in different settings, with different characters and different events that are no way related, I would consider it to trump Cavendish’s ‘The Blazing World’ as the weirdest piece of literature I have read, but might need longer for it to sink in to decide such an acclimation. That being said it had so little content, just abstract depictions of the mundane each titled with a juxtaposing historical event. I don’t have any definitive ideas of a meaning myself so googled some interpretations that quote it to be “personal versus political affairs” and to be about “the surreal nature of modern life” the play is so short and broken apart that none of these ideas I can claim are explored in enough depth to give any credit to. My lecture on this one is sure to be an interesting one.

[Te Aniwaniwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, at first I was like "what the heck" at the intense political sentences followed by mundane scenes with varying tensions of dysfuction then I clicked, the personal & political, ugh I'm obsessed

Referencing Magritte's "This is Not A Pipe" being only a representation to signify a pipe. The same with "This is a chair" the political messages are not represented by the scenes. Comments on how words are prescribed meaning: THIS IS A CHAIR... I wonder if she was inspired by Ionesco?

In Caryl Churchill: Four Plays she introduces the play with “This is a chair is a series of impressive subjects that a play might address and the scenes don’t address them" and it's interesting thinking about the obliviousness to all political problems and the focus on irrelevant interpersonal conflicts e.g. miscommunication, lack of emotional honesty so falling to passive aggression, no relationship accountability e.g. double booking/bailing, or oppressive dynamics that are the same as political problems... if middle class addressed their interpersonal problems instead of having endless meaningless conflicts they may have the time to focus on things that actually matter

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read plenty of plays even understanding that I am not getting the full experience, that while I can maybe imagine the staging and acting I can't lose myself in it the way the author intended. Still, I've mostly enjoyed them, and I loved the one other Churchill play I've read (A Number) so I wanted to try more from her. This specific play unfortunately might be one of those that is much more interesting to watch in person. I did "get" what Churchill was going for and was mildly amused, but it's a single gimmick in a very short play and then the play is quickly over. I read a review talking about how the contrast between the politically evocative section titles and the mundane personal dramas that actually play out forces you to think more about those aforementioned issues, and maybe this effect is greatly enhanced while viewing in person, but it unfortunately fell flat when reading.

[Ella Raw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read anything like this before. Such a subtly crafted clever play. I especially liked the ‘war in Bosnia’, scene with the specific dates, links, and language. The ‘labour party slide to the right’ was also interesting and funny if you know about late 20th century Labour Party politics. Definitely a play to read with a fixed eye on context, and definitely not a play designed for pure entertainment.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

painfully perfect

[amy williams]

whilst this was very monotonous to read, the concept of the play was very thought provoking and i can imagine that this would be very interesting to see staged

[Corvyn Appleby · Rating 5 out of 5]

laughed out loud at the last page. this is brilliant

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this, one of Churchill's shortest plays. Nowhere near the genius that is Top Girls, but it isn't one of her worst either.

[Katie Proctor · Rating 1 out of 5]

What on god's green earth have I just read and what am I meant to do with it

[Micaela *CLONAZINE*]

????????????????

[Robin Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a way to end a play... loved it!

[Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes concept and motion this is fun and pensive.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because of the Magritte painting on the cover, expecting something in the surreal range.

I didn't find it surreal but the author does point to the juxtaposition of each scene's title and what actually happened. This does follow Magritte's idea of words and images not matching.

Beyond that, it may take additional reads to decide what I really feel about the short piece. It does make you think a bit.

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting on a cerebral level, but not particularly enjoyable. Which is to say, that if I stepped back and looked the work objectively, with knowledge of the intent, then I could see what was going on. However, I sort of hoped that the intent would be clear from the work itself, without needing to read any notes.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoa...! weird stuff, but an inspiration!

[Jacob Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's food for thought, which is interesting since it doesn't seem like there's much intention behind the jarring juxtapositions of the titles and the seemingly menial scenes that follow them.

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice piece to practice your literary criticism on. lol.