Ask The Archivist is a regular feature allowing you to put your Alan Ayckbourn related questions to the playwright's archivist Simon Murgatroyd.
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: With this summer's revival of Absurd Person Singular at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Alan Ayckbourn will have directed the play in all three homes of the Stephen Joseph Theatre company. Are there any other plays he's directed in all three venues?
Answer: To put this into context, what is now the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough was originally based at The Library Theatre (1955 - 1976); the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round (1976 - 1996) and moved to its present home, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, in 1996.
Alan directed the world premiere of Absurd Person Singular at the Library Theatre in 1972 and a revival at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round in 1989. This summer he will direct it again at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
As of 2012, Alan has only directed one other play in all three venues: he directed the world premiere of Time And Time Again in 1971 at the Library Theatre before reviving it at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round in 1986 before directing it at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 2005.
Absurd Person Singular is also significant in being the only play Alan has directed in all three Scarborough venues and the West End as the 1989 revival of the play transferred to the Whitehall Theatre in 1990 with Alan directing.
You can find out more about the play Absurd Person Singular at Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website here.
To submit your question to Ask The Archivist, email Simon Murgatroyd at: ayckbourn@gmail.com labelled Ask The Archivist.
