A girl made of glass. Gods and murders. A pack of ghosts. And a secret in a bottle. A kaleidoscope of stories, each short play is a testament to how playwright Caryl Churchill has “remade the landscape of contemporary drama—and earned herself a place among the greats” (The Guardian). James Macdonald directs these wildly inventive new works.
Her latest investigations take the form of a collection of four one-act plays at the Public Theater, under the portmanteau title “Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.” Written separately over the last few years, each is pointed enough on its own: short and edgy. But together, in a splendid and surprisingly emotional production directed by James Macdonald, a frequent Churchill collaborator, they are so sharp you hardly feel them slicing your skin.
For sheer fertility of imagination, there may be no dramatist writing today to match Caryl Churchill. Across a distinguished career spanning more than five decades, the British playwright has written about a vast array of subjects, from the evils of colonialism to the global financial system to the morality of human cloning. And with each work she seems, astonishingly, to find a fresh form, a newly minted theatrical vessel for her ideas. The four short plays currently on view at the Public Theater reveal the writer at her most economical—her works have become more concentrated in recent years—and often at her most provocatively enigmatic. These are plays that startle with their strangeness, but also leave you with much to ponder.
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater American Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Deirdre O'Connell |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Pl | Isabella Byrd |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play | Miriam Buether |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Play | Bray Poor |
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