Joking Apart (play)

Joking Apart is a 1978 play by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn.

Overview
Written in response to comments that Ayckbourn only ever wrote about unhappy couples, the play follows Richard and Anthea, a perfect and happily married couple who inadvertently worsen the lives of the couples they have befriended over the course of 12 years: Hugh and Louise, Sven and Olive, and Brian and his seemingly never-ending stream of unsteady girlfriends (Melody, Mandy, Mo, and Debbie). In most productions, Brian's girlfriends are portrayed by the same actress, with characters commenting on their similar physical appearances.