HBO Films Premieres Caryl Churchill's 'A Number,' 12/29

HBO Films will present Caryl Churchill's A Number, which Churchill also adapted for the screen.  The telefilm stars Emmy Award-winner Tom Wilkinson and Rhys Ifans in this shattering meditation on human identity, as it examines the issues of human cloning and nature vs. nurture. A Number premieres on HBO Signature on Tuesday, December 29 at 9pm.

A Number was originally adapted by Caryl Churchill for television, in a co-production between the BBC and HBO Films in 2008. Starring Rhys Ifans and Tom Wilkinson, it was first broadcast on BBC Two on September 10 2008.

Like the play, the film tells the story of a world wherein human cloning has become a reality. Two genetically identical men confront their father in separate, chilling encounters, each looking for explanations into their shred past - and receiving disturbing answers that neither may want to hear. 

Click here to watch a sneak peak of the broadcast.

Caryl Churchill's A Number is an original work published in 2002 in London in association with The Royal Court Theatre. A Number was written during a time when cloning was frequently in the news. Dolly the sheep was cloned not too long before, human embryos were being created in the U.S. at Advanced Cell Technology, and a kitten was cloned as well. These events sparkEd Moral controversy among people around the world raising the question of how far human cloning should be taken.

The play debuted at The Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 September 2002. The production was directed by Stephen Daldry and designed by Ian MacNeil and starred Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig. The play won the 2002 Evening Standard Award for Best Play. The play was revived at the Sheffield Crucible studio in October 2006 starring real-life father and son Timothy West and Samuel West. It made it's U.S. premiere in 2004 at the New York Theatre Workshop in a production starring Sam Shepard (later played by Arliss Howard) and Dallas Roberts. The play premiered on the West Coast in LA in February/March 2009 at the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company in a production directed by Scott Barber, starring Vince Campbell and Mark Coyan. 

 

 

 

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