The Skriker
play written by Caryl Churchill
The Skriker is a 1994 play by Caryl Churchill that tells the story of an ancient fairy who, during the course of the play, transforms into a plethora of objects and people as it pursues Lily and Josie, two teenage mothers whom it befriends, manipulates, seduces and entraps. Whilst speaking English in its human incarnations, the Skriker’s own language consists of broken and fragmented word play. Blending naturalism, horror and magical realism, it is a story of love, loss and revenge. As with Churchill's A Mouthful of Birds (1986), the play explores the themes of post-natal psychosis and possession.
Performances
The Skriker opened in January 1994 in London at the National Theatre's Cottesloe auditorium, starring Kathryn Hunter, Sandy McDade, and Jacqueline Defferary, and was directed by Les Waters.
In 1996, the play's American debut was at New York's Public Theater, starring Jayne Atkinson, Caroline Seymour, and Angie Phillips with Philip Seymour Hoffman and an ensemble cast. Cast: Jayne Atkinson (the Skriker), Angie Phillips (Lily), Caroline Seymour (Rosie); April Armstrong, Marc Calamia, Rene M. Ceballos, Torrin T. Cummings, Kate Egan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jodi Melnick, Ric Oquita, Diana Rice, Valda Setterfield, Jack Shamblin, Doug Von Nessen, Sturgis Warner. It was directed by Mark Wing-Davey. It was presented by the Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival at 425 Lafayette Street, East Village.
In November 2006, The Virtual Theatricality Lab at Henry Ford College staged the play using 3D stereo digital technology and motion capture to create the scenery, creatures and fairies.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Skriker” as play written by Caryl Churchill. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as play written by Caryl Churchill. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7764654. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1994, 1986, 1996 and 2006.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Skriker” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.