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Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit '' Relatively Speaking'' opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1967. Major successes include ''Absurd Person Singular'' (1972), ''The Norman Conquests'' trilogy (1973), '' Absent Friends'' (1974), ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975), ''Just Between Ourselves'' (1976), '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1984), ''Woman in Mind'' (1985), ''A Small Family Business'' (1987), '' Man of the Moment'' (1988), ''House'' & ''Garden'' (1999) and ''Private Fears in Public Places'' (2004). His plays have won numerous aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woman In Mind
''Woman in Mind (December Bee)'' is the 32nd play by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, in 1985. Despite pedestrian reviews by many critics, strong audience reaction resulted in a transfer to London's West End. The play received its London opening at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1986 where it received predominantly excellent reviews. ''Woman in Mind'' was Ayckbourn's first play to use first-person narrative and a subjective viewpoint and is considered to be one of his most affecting works and one of his best. History and influences ''Woman in Mind'' was the last play written by Ayckbourn before his two-year sabbatical at the Royal National Theatre. Most of it was written while Ayckbourn was on holiday in the Virgin Islands. Influences for the play include the film '' Dead on Arrival'' in which the narrator is revealed to be dead at the climax. '' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat'' by Oliver Sacks is al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Fears In Public Places
''Private Fears in Public Places'' is a 2004 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The bleakest play written by Ayckbourn for many years, it intimately follows a few days in the lives of six characters, in four tightly interwoven stories through 54 scenes. In 2006, it was made into a film ''Cœurs'', directed by Alain Resnais. Background The title was originally chosen for a play Ayckbourn was writing in 1994, but which was replaced by another new play, '' Communicating Doors''. Ten years later he used the title for this very different play – following the practice of rescuing redundant titles first employed by Ayckbourn for '' Absurd Person Singular'' back in 1972.Alan Ayckbourn, Preface to Three Plays (''Absurd Person Singular'', ''Absent Friends'', ''Bedroom Farce'') (1977) Penguin As with ''Absurd Person Singular'', ''Private Fears in Public Places'' has little in common with the play for which its title was first devised. It was written for performance by the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House & Garden (plays)
''House'' and ''Garden'' are a diptych (or linked pair) of plays written by the English playwright Alan Ayckbourn, first performed in 1999. They are designed to be staged simultaneously, with the same cast in adjacent auditoria, and were published together as ''House & Garden''. ''House'' takes place in the drawing room, and ''Garden'' in the grounds, of a large country house. Each play is self-contained (although each refers more or less obliquely to events in the other), and they may be attended in either order. As is typical of his work, Ayckbourn portrays the mostly bittersweet relationships between more or less unhappy, upper-middle-class people. The title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the magazine '' House & Garden'', in which country houses and gardens are often portrayed as idyllic, peaceful places. Production history After performances in 1999 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, the plays were staged in 2000 at the Royal National Theatre in London with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relatively Speaking (play)
''Relatively Speaking'' is a 1965 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, originally titled ''Meet My Father'', his first major success. Setting The action of the play takes place during a summer weekend in the bed-sitting-room of Ginny's London flat and on the garden patio of Sheila and Philip's home in Buckinghamshire, outside London. The time is 1965. Characters * Ginny – A young woman with a chequered past * Greg – Ginny's current boyfriend * Philip – Ginny's former employer and ex-lover * Sheila – Philip's wife Synopsis The play opens in the flat of Greg and Ginny, a young co-habiting couple, Ginny being the more sexually experienced. Greg finds a strange pair of slippers under the bed and is too besotted to believe they might have been left by another man (which would also explain the bunches of flowers and boxes of sweets filling Ginny's apartment). Ginny goes off for a day in the country, supposedly to visit her parents but actually to break things off wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Chorus Of Disapproval (play)
''A Chorus of Disapproval'' is a 1984 play written by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn. Synopsis The story follows a young widower, Guy Jones, as he joins an amateur operatic society that is putting on '' The Beggar's Opera''. He rapidly progresses through the ranks to become the male lead, while simultaneously conducting liaisons with several of the female cast. Many of the songs from ''The Beggar's Opera'' are kept within the play, usually being sung with their own, new context. First productions Ayckbourn wrote the work for the 1984 summer season at his Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, where it opened on 2 May. Peter Hall, director of the National Theatre, London, had expressed an interest in the piece and Ayckbourn modified his initial concept to suit an eventual large-scale production; on 1 August 1985 it opened in the National's Olivier auditorium, with Ayckbourn directing, Michael Gambon playing amateur director Dafydd Llewellyn and Bob Peck as newcomer Guy Jon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Small Family Business
''A Small Family Business'' is a play by Alan Ayckbourn about the eponymous business and dealing with the Thatcherism of the time. It premiered at the Olivier stage of the Royal National Theatre on 20 May 1987, where it won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play for that year. Its Broadway premiere occurred on 27 April 1992. Radio adaptation A radio adaptation directed by Martin Jarvis (actor), Martin Jarvis was broadcast at 8 p.m. on Sunday 12 April 2009 on BBC Radio 3 as part of the celebrations of its author's 70th birthday that day. Its cast included: * Jack McCraken – Alfred Molina * Benedict – Adam Godley * Poppy – Rosalind Ayres * Anita – Joanne Whalley * Cliff – Kenneth Danziger * Ken – Roy Dotrice * Yvonne – Millicent Martin * Harriet – Jill Gascoine * Desmond – Julian Sands * Roy – Darren Richardson * Tina – Moira Quirk * Samantha – Fuchsia Sumner * The five Rivetti brothers – Matthew Wolf Reception In 2000, The Daily Telegraph, ''The Teleg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Norman Conquests
''The Norman Conquests'' is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. ''Table Manners'' is set in the dining room, ''Living Together'' in the living room, and ''Round and Round the Garden'' in the garden. The plays were first performed in Scarborough, before runs in London and on Broadway. A television version was first broadcast in the UK during October 1977. Outline The small scale of the drama is typical of Ayckbourn. There are only six characters, namely Norman, his wife Ruth, her brother Reg and his wife Sarah, Ruth's sister Annie, and Tom, Annie's next-door-neighbour. A seventh unseen and unheard character is in the house, upstairs: the bedridden mother of Reg, Ruth and Annie. The plays are at times wildly comic, and at times poignant, in their portrayals of the relationships among the six characters. Each play is self-contained, and they may be watched ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedroom Farce (play)
''Bedroom Farce'' is a 1975 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It had a London production at the National Theatre in 1977, transferring subsequently to the Prince of Wales Theatre. Plot summary The play takes place in three bedrooms during one night and the following morning. The cast consists of four married couples. At the beginning of the play, the oldest couple, Delia and Ernest, are getting ready to go out for a meal to celebrate their wedding anniversary; Malcolm and Kate, the youngest, are about to host a housewarming party, to which the other two couples, Jan and Nick and Susannah and Trevor (the only ones whose bedroom is not seen), have been invited. At the last minute Nick has hurt his back and is unable to go. The complicating factor is that Jan used to be Trevor's girlfriend, and after Susannah and Trevor have a blazing row, Susannah finds Trevor kissing Jan. As a result Susannah leaves the party and goes to visit Delia and Ernest, whose connection with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man Of The Moment (play)
''Man of the Moment'' is a play by the British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough on 10 August 1988 and transferred to the Globe Theatre in the West End on 14 February 1990. Original West End cast *Jill Rillington, TV presenter - Samantha Bond *Douglas Beechey, former hero who prevented a bank robbery by Parks and whose future wife was shot in the face by Parks during the robbery - Michael Gambon *Vic Parks, professional bank-robber and TV personality - Peter Bowles *Trudy Parks, Vic's second wife - Diane Bull *Kenny Collins, Parks's manager -David Cunningham *David - Paul Stewart *Sharon, Parks's children's nanny - Shirley-Anne Selby *Ruy, Parks's gardener - Daniel Collings *Ashley Barnes - Terence Booth *Marta - Doreen Andrew Radio adaptation As part of celebrations for Ayckbourn's 70th birthday, a radio adaptation directed by Martin Jarvis was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 2.30pm on 11 April 2009, with the following cas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Absurd Person Singular
''Absurd Person Singular'' is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples. Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples' homes on successive Christmas Eves. Production history The play made its world premiere at the Library Theatre, Scarborough on 26 June 1972 and its London début at the Criterion Theatre on 4 July 1973, transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre in September 1974, completing a run of 973 performances. Its official New York Broadway début was at the Music Box Theatre on 8 October 1974. It ran for 591 performances in its first run on Broadway (through March 1976). It starred Richard Kiley, Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Carole Shelley, Larry Blyden, and Tony Roberts. It was revived on Broadway on 18 October 2005 at the Biltmore Theatre, for 56 performances. In 1994 James Maxwell directed a production for the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Trevor Cooper, Margo Gunn, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the North Yorkshire#Settlements, fourth-largest settlement in the county. It is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 and 230 feet (3–70 m) above sea level, from the harbour rising steeply north and west towards limestone cliffs. The older part of the town lies around the harbour and is protected by a rocky headland which extends into the North Sea. The town has fishing and service industries, including a growing digital and creative economy, as well as being a tourist destination. Residents of the town are known as Scarborians. Etymology Scarborough was founded by Danes in the 10th century, when Thorgil (also known as Skarthi, meaning 'hare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Absent Friends (play)
''Absent Friends'' is a 1974 play by the British playwright Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen .... Plot When Colin, a friend who has been absent, comes back to his circle of friends, his friends are worried about how to approach him over the death of his fiancée, Carol, who has drowned. Diana organizes a tea party for Colin's arrival. The characters are shown to have interrelationship tensions and this is near erupting when Colin arrives, heightening the tension when they all work to appear friendly towards him. However Colin seems euphorically happy while the rest of the party are near breaking point. Diana is concerned in Act I regarding whether her husband (Paul) is faithful or not. Deep down she knows he is not and has a feeling he is having a lov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
