Genesis West presents

A Number by Caryl Churchill

November 4-20, 2011

“The greatest living English language playwright” -Tony Kushner

Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play.

Human cloning is the subject of this gripping hour-long psychological thriller that blends topical scientific speculation with a stunning portrait of the relationship between a father and his three sons—two of which are clones of the first—all to be played by the same actor. Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play.

‘A Number by Caryl Churchill is the first true play of the 21st century.” – Evening Standard (London)

Caryl Churchill is an English dramatist, consistently acknowledged as one of the very most powerful voices in contemporary theatre. In her amazing 50-year career she has won several major awards, including four Obies and an Olivier for play writing. She has written countless important works such as Cloud Nine, Top Girls, and Serious Money. Genesis West has previously presented the West Coast premiers of Churchill’s Blue Heart and Far Away.

A Number will be presented as a pop-up theatre piece, taking place in several different Santa Barbara locations between Nov. 4-20

“A Number confirms Churchill’s status as the first dramatist for the 21^st century. On the face of it, it is about human cloning… Like all of Churchill’s best plays, A Number deals with both the essentials and the extremities of human experience… The questions this brilliant, harrowing play asks are almost unanswerable, which is why they must be asked.” Sunday Times

Founded in March 1998 by writer-director Michael Smith and director Maurice Lord, Genesis West is a Santa Barbara theatre company devoted to the work of contemporary playwrights. To date, Genesis West has presented fourteen plays in Santa Barbara: “The Pillowman” by Martin McDonagh, Sam Shepard’s “The God of Hell” and “Buried Child”; Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?”; “Blue Heart” and “Far Away” by Caryl Churchill, Michael Smith’s “Trouble,” “Dogs Bark All Night,” and “Turnip Family Secrets”; Canadian playwright George F. Walker’s “Criminal Genius,” “Featuring Loretta,” and “Escape from Happiness”; and two plays by Maria Irene Fornes, “Mud” and “The Danube.” Productions have been seen at both Center Stage Theater and the Lobero Theatre. Numerous Indie awards have celebrated the work of the company. Genesis West, today a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation, continues its tradition of presenting stimulating plays by contemporary writers.

Mission Statement

The mission of Genesis West is to present transgressive plays by contemporary noted playwrights in order to make Santa Barbara a more artistically vibrant community. Our thought-provoking work is often audacious, experimental, avant-garde, and even farcical, but it always has a greater purpose—to enlighten audiences emotionally, psychologically, and socially.

Independent Theatre Awards