Despite minor technical hitches and a day later than planned, today we can reveal the answer to what is the most performed Ayckbourn play by amateur companies since 1996.
There's been a great response to the original post (despite the email issue!) and we've had some great suggestions - and some strangers ones too.
Before we reveal the winner and the top 10 plays, here's some of the thoughts you've submitted.
The most popular suggestion was How The Other Half Loves, which is 6th in the list with a number of people opting for Absurd Person Singular (9th).
A Chorus Of Disapproval (8th) was - understandably - popular as was Bedroom Farce (3rd). More obscure suggestions include Way Upstream (35th), The Revengers' Comedies (49th) and GamePlan (34th).
Surprisingly, no-one suggested the second most performed play which over the years has become a stalwart of amateur companies: Confusions.
Only one person managed to name the most performed play - although only as a possibility rather than their actual answer. So hats off to John Chapman for at least getting close to the answer.
And the answer is - drum roll, please - to the most performed Ayckbourn play by amateurs since 1996...
Ernie's Incredible Illucinations
Did that surprise you? It's a play that isn't obvious until you think about it and then, when you realise how many schools and colleges must perform the play each year (and have done since the early '70s), that it's obviously going to be by far and away the most performed Ayckbourn play.
The top ten* Ayckbourn plays are:
1) Ernie's Incredible Illucinations
2) Confusions
3) Bedroom Farce
4) Season's Greetings
5) Relatively Speaking
6) How The Other Half Loves
7) Table Manners
8) A Chorus Of Disapproval
9) Absurd Person Singular
10) Round And Round The Garden
* In the original list, The Norman Conquests is number 2 but this figure is an aggregate of its individual plays and does not reflect the number of times the trilogy as a whole has been performed.
Thanks to Samuel French for providing these figures and we'll look at the rest of the top 20 (and some notable other plays) in a future column - as well as looking at which 20 Ayckbourn plays featured in the 200 most performed amateur productions of 2012. Watch this space!
Thanks to everyone who submitted their thoughts and suggestions on the most performed play!
