Greenland

Description

What on earth is happening to our planet? And who knows what to do? Certainties are few: every living thing is related to every other living thing; our actions have consequences; change is continual and inevitable. The National Theatre asked four of the country's most exciting writers to investigate. The team spent six months interviewing key individuals from the worlds of science, politics, business and philosophy to create a fast-paced and provocative new play. Greenland premiered at the National Theatre, London, in February 2011.

Jack's plays for the stage include Bunny (Underbelly, Edinburgh, 2010; Soho, 2011); 2nd May 1997 (Bush, 2009); When You Cure Me (Bush, 2005; Radio 3's Drama on Three, 2006); Fanny and Faggot (Pleasance, Edinburgh, 2004 and 2007; Finborough, 2007; English Theatre of Bruges, 2007; Trafalgar Studios, 2007); and Stacy (Tron, 2006; Arcola, 2007; Trafalgar Studios, 2007). His radio plays include Left at the Angel (Radio 4, 2007), an adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2009), and an original play People Snogging in Public Places (Radio 3's Wire slot, 2009). He was a core writer in all three series of Skins (E4, Channel 4, BBC America), writing five episodes. His other TV writing includes The Fades, Shameless, Cast-Offs and the thirty-minute drama The Spastic King. He wrote the short film A Supermarket Love Song (shown at Sundance, 2006), and the feature film The Scouting Book for Boys, directed by Tom Harper (Film4, Celador and Screeneast, 2009), which won him the Star of London Best Newcomer Award at the London Film Festival 2009. Matt Charman's first play, A Night at the Dogs (Soho Theatre, London), won the prestigious Verity Bargate Award for new writers. Other productions include The Observer, directed by Sir Richard Eyre, and The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder, and Greenland (written with Jack Thorne, Moira Buffini and Penelope Skinner), all three of which premiered at the National Theatre, London, where Charman was previously Pearson Writer in Residence. Regrets received its world premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club in May 2012, while his next, The Machine, will premiere at the Manchester International Festival in May 2013, before being staged at the Armory in New York. He is a recipient of the Peggy Ramsay Award and the 2008 Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play for The Observer. Moira Buffini's plays include Blavatsky's Tower (Machine Room), Gabriel (Soho Theatre), Silence (Birmingham Rep), Loveplay (Royal Shakespeare Company), Dinner (National Theatre and West End), Dying for It, adapted from The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman (Almeida), A Vampire Story (NT Connections), Marianne Dreams (Almeida Theatre) and Welcome to Thebes (National Theatre). She lives in London with her husband and children. Penelope Skinner's plays include The Village Bike (Royal Court Upstairs; 2011); The Sound of Heavy Rain (Paines Plough/Crucible Theatre Sheffield); Greenland (co-writer, National; 2011); The Literary Ball (co-writer, International Rough Cut, Royal Court; 2010); Eigengrau (Bush Theatre; 2010); Midnight at the Hotel Beauregard (Paines Plough / Rose Bruford College; 2010); Fucked (Old Red Lion; 2008 / Assembly Rooms Edinburgh; 2009). Television credits include: Fresh Meat - episode 3 (Objective Productions / Channel 4; 2011). She was a member of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and was subsequently invited to join their Supergroup in 2009. She was also part of the Paines Plough Future Perfect Scheme in 2009/10 and on attachment to the National Theatre in 2010. She was the recipient of the 2011 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright for The Village Bike.