In this act, Churchill explores such topics as women’s liberation, gay liberation, and the sexual revolution, all of which were prominent social movements in Britain, as well as the United States, in the 1970s. Act two takes place in London one hundred years later with mostly the same characters, who have aged only twenty-five years.
The first act is set in the nineteenth century in an African country ruled by Britain, and Churchill satirizes the repressive nature of the Victorian family, the rigidity of narrowly prescribed gender roles, and the phenomenon whereby oppressed peoples in colonized countries take on the identity of the colonizers. In addition to frequently being very amusing, the play highlights colonial and gender oppression. It was then performed on tour at the Royal Court Theatre in London and was first staged in New York in 1981.Ĭloud Nine, which can be found in Churchill’s Plays One(London and New York, 1985), was a popular and critical success. It could, though, be a man singing about going on a date with a man.Īnd that idea would definitely put Clive and (Act 1) Betty into a tizzy.Cloud Nine, by British playwright Caryl Churchill, was first performed at Dartington College of Arts in February 1979 by the Joint Stock Theatre Group. But here again, the joke's on us, because we probably just assume that the singer of the song is a woman if she's singing about going on a date with a man. One of the funny things about this song is that Churchill tends to put lines like the above next to corny, traditional love lyrics like, "He said be mine and you're on Cloud 9" (2.3.150). They were women in love, they were on Cloud 9." (2.3.156-158).īetty would not find this sort of situation conducive to landing on cloud nine. "Who did she meet on her first blind date?/ The guys were no surprise but the lady was great. So yeah, people have different ideas of happiness.Ĭhurchill more or less makes this point clear at the end of Act 2, Scene 3, which ends with a song called (yup) "Cloud 9." The lyrics of the song basically lay out the idea that people have different ideas about what brings happiness in life, as you can find in lines like: For Betty in Act 1, cloud nine has something to do with having a traditionally spotless nuclear family and also (less eew) spending time with Harry. And of course, not everyone has the same definition of cloud nine.įor Edward in Act 1, cloud nine has something to do with playing with a dolly and (eew, eew) spending quality time with Harry. The problem is that some characters mistakenly think that everyone should want the same thing: a nice, traditional family. In this play, Churchill seems to be playing with the idea of cloud nine as a happy place, brought about by the most fortunate circumstances. You might be on cloud nine if you just won the lottery, got engaged, or found yourself with miraculous, legitimate flu symptoms on the day of a big test that you "forgot" to study for. The title Cloud 9 comes from the old expression "on cloud nine," which refers to a place of total mental fulfillment and happiness.
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