WHAT IF IF ONLY

by Caryl Churchill

directed by Ana Radulescu

Your partner’s gone, could things have been different? Churchill’s new 25-minute one-act play delves deeply into the possibilities that lie behind grief and mourning. When your dearest love leaves this earth, all you can do is wish to see them again. But what happens when you do? 

Caryl Churchill’s short play What If If Only premiered in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2021, directed by James Macdonald. Burning Coal Theatre Company will present the United States premiere production. 

Press Quotes from the Original U.K. Production:

“A truly uncompromising theatrical voice at the top of her game… [Churchill] packs more into this 20-minute piece about death, grief and the multiverse than many writers manage at seven times the length…” – Evening Standard

“Packs many an emotional punch, traumatic and claustrophobic while laugh-out-loud funny” – Independent

AIR

by Caryl Churchill

directed by Ana Radulescu

This short stream-of-consciousness piece was included as an addendum in the publication of WHAT IF IF ONLY. It is written with no characters or planned narrative, just a writer at her peak expression putting words together as they come.

Burning Coal Theatre Company aims to stage this ephemeral piece in a world premier production, which will perform in repertory alongside WHAT IF IF ONLY. The director, Ana Radulescu, and the company of actors will together craft their own interpretation to embody Churchill’s newest piece.

Caryl Churchill’s Air was first produced online as part of The Lockdown Plays in May 2020. It was performed by Tom Mothersdale and Lydia Wilson, and directed by Wilf Scolding.