If you have a question regarding any aspect of Alan's work, email it to: ayckbourn@gmail.com (labelled Ask The Archivist) and we'll publish any interesting questions.
Question: A spin-off from last week's question about Alan Ayckbourn's directing career: which single play has Alan Ayckbourn directed the most times?
Answer: This answer might surprise many readers as the play Alan has directed the most productions of is his and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical By Jeeves.
Alan originally directed By Jeeves in 1996 for its world premiere at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, before redirecting it for its West End transfer later that year at the Duke Of York's Theatre. The same year also saw Alan hop across the Atlantic to direct it at the Norman Terris Theatre in Connecticut. He then re-directed this production the following year at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington. Flash forward to 2001 and Alan directed By Jeeves at Pittsburgh Public Theatre before it moved to Broadway in 2002, where Alan directed it at the Helen Hayes Theatre. He also co-directed the 2001 CBC television production of the play with Nick Morris.
Other notable plays he has directed multiple productions of are Absurd Person Singular (the Library Theatre, Scarborough, 1972; Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, 1989; Whitehall Theatre, London, 1990; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, 2012); Woman In Mind (Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, 1985; Vaudeville Theatre, London, 1986; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, 2008; Vaudeville Theatre, London, 2009); Way Upstream (Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, 1981; Alley Theatre, Houston, 1982; National Theatre, London, 1982; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, 2009).
To find out more about Alan Ayckbourn's directing career, visit the Directing section of his website.
To submit your question to Ask The Archivist, email Simon Murgatroyd at: ayckbourn@gmail.com labelled Ask The Archivist.
