February 17th & March 17th, 2022
Lucy Kirkwood is a British playwright and screenwriter. Her plays have been performed across the UK and beyond, including the Royal Court Theatre, National Theatre, the West End and Broadway. Some of her critically acclaimed works include, The Children, It Felt Empty When The Heart Went At First But It Is Alright Now, and Chimerica (winner of the 2014 Olivier Award for Best New Play, the 2013 Evening Standard Best Play Award, the 2014 Critics’ Circle Best New Play Award, and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award). Lucy Kirkwood is a writer in residence at Clean Break, a feminist theatre company.
Chimerica begins in the year 1989. Joe Schofield takes a picture of a Chinese civilian confronting four military tanks in Tiananmen Square—an image that would captivate the world for decades to come. In 2012, as China–US relations dominate presidential election debates, a mysterious message linked to the event appears in a Beijing newspaper. In response, Joe vows to uncover the story behind the unknown hero he photographed twenty-three years ago. A deft political thriller as well as a riveting personal journey, CHIMERICA explores the intertwining fortunes of two global superpowers.