Judy Upton Plays 2: Bruises; The Girlz; Sliding With Suzanne; Gaby Goes Global; Lockdown Tales

Description

Since her early break-through at the Royal Court Theatre in 1995, where she won the George Devine award and was joint winner of the Verity Bargate Award, Judy Upton has proven herself to be one of Britain's most prolific and diverse writers. In this, her second collection, we see work ranging from 1995 through to the 2000s and a collection of short work created during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. Bruises (1995) Royal Court Theatre, London - "This is no angry polemic but a subtly atmospheric piece ... Neither writer nor director seeks easy answers in this coolly disturbing view of an issue usually hammered home with both fists." (Evening Standard) The Girlz (1998) Orange Tree, London - "Judy Upton's ever-promising career takes another small leap forward with this tantalising foray into characteristic Upton territory, the febrile world of foul-mouthed, disadvantaged young females from the south-east." (Time Out) Sliding With Suzanne (2001) Royal Court Theatre, London - "Judy Upton probably won't thank me for saying so, but her new play, Sliding with Suzanne, comes over as that rarest of phenomena - a contemporary play with a Right-wing agenda. If Margaret Thatcher went to see it she would be appalled by the language and much of the action but would, I suspect, end up applauding its sentiments." (Telegraph) Gaby Goes Global (2009) New Wimbledon Theatre, London - A wry and mischievous look at the benefits system, and the world of fine art. Gaby is a downtrodden employment advisor at the Benefit Delivery Centre. She tries to get rich by promoting the struggling artists who sign on. But it is Gaby who grabs all the attention - with the sort of exposure she hadn't bargained for... Lockdown Tales (2020) - "a story of struggle, hope, even more struggle and then hope which provides a sensitive and sincere insight into the mind of a key worker during lockdown ... a must watch and is the epitome of the type of work that should be produced during lockdown." (A Younger Theatre)

Judy Upton was born in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex. Her first stage play, Everlasting Rose, was produced at London New Play Festival in 1992. In 1994 she won the George Devine Award for Ashes and Sand, which was produced in that year at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, and the Verity Bargate award for Bruises, which was co-produced by the Royal Court and Soho Theatre Company at the Theatre Upstairs in 1995. Judy's other stage plays are: Temple (The Room, Richmond Orange Tree, 1995); The Shorewatchers House (The Red Room, Kentish Town 1996); Stealing Souls (The Red Room, 1996); Sunspots (The Red Room, 1996, transferred to BAC); People on the River (The Red Room at the Finborough, 1997); To Blusher with Love (Winner of the Open Stages Competition, 1997); The Girlz (The Room, Richmond Orange Tree, 1998); Know Your Rights (The Red Room at BAC, 1998) and Sliding with Suzanne (Royal Court/Out-of-Joint, 2001). Upton is currently writer in residence with The Red Room.

This is no angry polemic but a subtly atmospheric piece ... Neither writer nor director seeks easy answers in this coolly disturbing view of an issue usually hammered home with both fists. * Evening Standard (on Bruises) * Judy Upton's ever-promising career takes another small leap forward with this tantalising foray into characteristic Upton territory, the febrile world of foul-mouthed, disadvantaged young females from the south-east * Time Out (on The Girlz) * Judy Upton probably won't thank me for saying so, but her new play, Sliding with Suzanne, comes over as that rarest of phenomena - a contemporary play with a Right-wing agenda. If Margaret Thatcher went to see it she would be appalled by the language and much of the action but would, I suspect, end up applauding its sentiments. * Daily Telegraph (on Sliding With Suzanne) *