Talk:Alan Ayckbourn

Second most frequently performed?
I'm all in favor of Ayckbourn, but if the second most frequently performed playwright in English isn't Oscar Wilde, I'll be very surprised.

Tex 02:27, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

You should be surprised then. Ayckbourn is the 2nd most performed British playwright behind Shakespeare, and the third believe it or not is John Godber. It's all down to the many amateur theatre companies who make up the numbers.

I'm sorry if this point is in the wrong place. Is it known that Alan's early plays were written in association his wife? I gained the impression that he made a pen-name from their combined names because he was appearing in the plays under his own name, and wanted the play to be credited under a different name. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alien-corn (talk • contribs) 21:17, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

A Trip to Scarborough
I wonder whether someone more knowledgeable could say why A Trip to Scarborough (1982) isn't featured in the list of plays. Although it is a rewriting of a play by Sheridan, it seems to me that Ayckbourn's play is two-thirds original and in the current production is credited solely to Ayckbourn. Zipperdeedoodah (talk) 18:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

The play is not credited solely to Alan Ayckbourn. All posters (and this is for all professional productions staged of the play) bear the legend that it is variations of R B Sheridan's plays. For some strange reason the SJT poster on their website has just the graphic and carries none of the relevant text pertinent to the production. With regard to the play's history, Alan Ayckbbourn merely took the view that as Sheridan adapted Scarborough from Vanbrugh's The Relapse, which itself was a sequel to Cibber's Love's Last Shift, that there was a precedent for adapting it. As noted, Two-thirds of the play are original to Ayckbourn (the WWII and the contemporary scenes). As to why the play is not listed amongst his canon, Alan Ayckbourn lists all his adaptations and revues seperately to his original full length plays. As a result, Scarborough is listed amongst his adaptations which include Tons Of Money, Wolf At The Door, The Forest and A Trip To Scarborough (again this is to acknowledge the play is not an original play by Ayckbourn). Full details of the history of the play can be found at www.alanayckbourn.net. Simon Murgatroyd (talk) 22:22, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Alterations
I have clarified several aspects of the current biography. The CBE has been removed from his title as once knighted, this supercedes a CBE. References to more than 40 plays produced in London have been corrected to more than 30 plays (the actual figure is 32 plays). I have also amended some of the biography pertaining to biographers analyzing his work. There has only been one biography of Alan's life published (by Paul Allen), all the other books are predominantly academic texts exploring his plays. Allen's biography also presents difficulties as a source, because although an 'official' biography, there are a number of errors within it (considering Ayckbourn's understandable desire to keep his personal life private, it is arguable he views the muddying of the water a good rather than a bad thing). Also updated is the fact Ayckbourn will actually stand down as Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 2009, not 2008 as reported. Simon Murgatroyd (talk) 10:11, 28 March 2008 (UTC)Simon Murgatroyd

Pronuciation
Could somebody skilled in this add the subject's prunciation (which is ache-born, with ache as in pain). I've met many people who don't know how it is pronounced. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:08, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Moved Private Fears in Public Places discussion
Thanks to those who answered my questions about the version at the Orange Tree theatre. Since there is now an article about the play, I've moved this discussion here: Talk:Private Fears in Public Places. I hope there are no objections.

Chris Neville-Smith (talk) 13:50, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Private Life sub-section
Hi everyone,

I've been having a look at this article, and I'm starting to think that the sub-section titled "Private Life" needs attention. At the moment, this seems to be getting close to original research, and certainly has a number of opinions that I'm not aware are stated anywhere else. Nonetheless, I don't think it warrants outright deletion as talk on how Alan Ayckbourn's life influenced his work is a valid subject.

I intend to edit this at some point, but does anyone have any opinions on what should be done before then?

Chris Neville-Smith (talk) 21:56, 24 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Update: I have made the following alterations, pending further discussion:
 * * I've added the {[SectOR}} template until the original research issue is settled.
 * * I've added a tag to the bit about academic texts trying to analyse Ayckbourn's work. I don't dispute this, but some examples ought to be cited. (And I don't have any.)
 * * I've tidied up the bit about the reference to A Chorus of Disapproval to make it more factual, clarified that "Heather" is Heather Stoney, and removed "(Gibson?)" as I don't know what that's referring to.
 * * I've tagged to the last two sentences. Both these sentences are opinions which I think are open to dispute, and need some sort of citation.


 * When I've got the time, I'll have a look through Grinning at the Edge and see what else is worth a mention. I think there's better examples in there than aCoD.


 * Chris Neville-Smith (talk) 09:40, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Major successes
Okay everyone, I will shortly be looking at the "writing" section on this page. I'm not planning to delete anything (although a few claims still need verifying). However, I've been thinking about the paragraph which lists Alan Ayckbourn's "major successes". Whilst this list seems a reasonable choice, this appears to be a list of whatever the original writer happened to pick. So I'd prefer it if there was a less arbitrary way of listing "major successes".

So ... Can I have your opinions on which plays should be mentioned as major successes? Or, better still, does anyone know of any cited reliable sources which would give any guidance?

Chris Neville-Smith (talk) 17:07, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Bring this up to date?
Hello. I saw this: "His latest play, Roundelay is scheduled to open in September 2014;[...] and I as I am unable to update this, I thought one of you might be better qualified to fix it. Thank you.Artwholeflaffer (talk) 01:03, 5 August 2017 (UTC)

Added 'Anno Domino'
I added the new play, 'Anno Domino', listing it as premiering in Scarborough - seemed most appropriate, as it premiered on the Stephen Joseph Theatre website (https://www.sjt.uk.com/annodomino) during the pandemic lockdown. Mtpt (talk) 06:40, 26 May 2020 (UTC)