Aidan Madigan
Clive: A British Colonial Administrator
Betty: Clive’s wife, played by a man
Joshua: Clive’s black servant, played by a white man
Edward: Clive’s son, played by a woman
Maud: Clive’s mother-in-law
Ellen: Edward’s governess/ Mrs. Saunders: A widdow
Harry Bagley: An explorer and friend to Clive
Characters in Act Two:
Betty: From act one
Edward: Her son
Victoria: Her daughter
Martin: Victoria’s husband
Lin: Mother of Cathy
Cathy: Lin’s daughter aged 4 and 5, played by a man
Gerry: Edward’s lover
Nine is a play written in 1979 by a famous female playwright named Caryl Churchill. Churchill was the first woman to be offered a playwriting residency with The Royal Court. Several years later, Cloud Nine became her first commercially successful play. She has been awarded the OBIE Award given by The Village Voice for the best playwright for this off-broadway production. She was also named “Britain’s Top Girl Playwright” by Vogue Magazine, a title that comes from the name of one of her productions (Top Girls).Many of her plays revolve around the issue of feminism, and embracing the spectrum of women and their racial, ethnic, and sexual identities. Cloud Nine represents issues of feminism, sexuality, identity, race, economics, colonialism and repression. “Churchill uses this chronological compression to demonstrate both the tendency of historical perspectives and the potential for their gradual change (Gainor).”
Cloud Nine is a two act play set in two different places, both under the influence of British colonialism. Act one takes place during the victorian era. The set shows the home of a British family at a time when the British are rising to power and the natives are fighting back to protect their land and culture. This is not a very safe time or place for anyone, especially a woman. This is also a time that revolves around white male supremacy, as clearly understood to the audience by the father Clive and his wife (played by a man) Betty. In this first part of the play, the family finds themselves struggling to hold a bond among each other, while an outsider Harry Bagley, is imposing himself in their home by taking part in sexual relations with several members of the family, including the adolescent son Edward (played by a woman). Throughout the first act, we find Clive as somewhat of a villain, he is a British Colonial Administrator, a cheating husband, a dissatisfied father, and somewhat of a racist. He portrays a double standard of sexuality by making an unmistakable pass at Edwards governess, Ellen, as well as performing oral sex on her. Joshua, Clive’s black servant we understand to be quite the tattletale of the play, turning in several members of the family in to Clive to show his devotion to the white male (Clive). He even remarks in the play “My skin is black, but my soul is white”. Betty is Clive’s wife that is played by a man to represent “A man’s creation”, she is quite intelligent and loving but shows a naive side when interacting with the rest of the cast. All of the characters of Act one come together to bring you a beautiful repertoire of devotion, confusion and crisis. Act one will leave you excited, bewildered, mystified and craving for more.
Act two is set a century in the future, however, the characters have only aged twenty five years. This part of the play is set in London in the 1970’s, at a time when Britain is struggling both politically and economically. Characters are dressed in punk rock attire. Even though the economy is struggling, there are signs of families having disposable income. The 1970’s was a time when color Tv was starting to become a very common thing in western culture. It was a way for people to see the news and remained entertained. This is also a very big moment in time for Women. Feminism was able to take a big step in society with the induction of Margaret Thatcher as the Prime Minister. Although women still struggle for rights and power, laws such as the Sex Discrimination Act have passed. Homosexuals have also been able to found movements, however there were not many political gains for them at this time. Act two portrays a much more politically and sexually free society. The stage is first set to a train setting with Gerry explaining his sexual encounters on the train and then moves quickly in to a setting of a park with Victoria, Lin and Cathy. Throughout Act two, we find Betty, Edward and Victoria trying to get though a time in their lives where they are struggling with their identities. We also find them dealing with family issues where they are trying to mend their relationships and establish trust among one another. The second act reflects the characters, actions and motifs of act one. However, in this part of the play, the characters have developed a bit more, as well as aged twenty five years and placed in one hundred years into the future. Betty has seemed to come to her senses and sees clive for who he really is and contemplates leaving him. We find out that Lin is a lesbian, which is something for the audience to keep in mind. If you were to admit your homosexuality to someone in the first act, you would have been shunned. It was unacceptable the victorian age. This act represents some dream like occurrences. There is an orgy, a seance, and an appearance of ghost. This act will take you into a different world then act one, but will not cease to amaze you. So sit back and enjoy, the irony, politics and sex.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Critics have noted in regards to Cloud Nine that “Churchill’s use of colonialism as a metaphor for sex and gender repression emerges as the dominant structuring device for Cloud Nine overall.”
“Provocatively eye opening.”
–The New York Times
“A female rioting good time!”
–Christina Wilson (First day of ENGL2408)
“Absurdism at it’s finest!”
–The Daily Prophet
Music: Beatles: Any Time at All (slowed down version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMfrllQQ6_UGinuwine: So Anxious
Cloud Nine 