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: admin@alanayckbourn.net (labelled Ask The Archivist) and we'll publish any interesting questions.
Question: A bit of a quirky question today! Now we know what the top ten most performed Ayckbourn plays are, what - as Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist - are your ten favourite plays?
Answer: This could be contentious! It's also not an easy question as there are plays which I appreciate and would say are essential to see to gain an appreciation of Alan's body of work - but which aren't necessarily plays I would put in my favourite list. I also came to Alan's plays during the mid '80s, so my initial impression of Alan was very different to, say, someone who discovered Alan's writing during the '70s, which also affects my favourites. But enough stalling(!), this is my list of 10 personal favourite Ayckbourn plays listed in chronological order rather than order of preference. Please feel free to disagree!
Simon Murgatroyd's Top Ten Ayckbourn Plays (chronological)
> Absurd Person Singular (1972)
> Absent Friends (1974)
> Just Between Ourselves (1976)
> Woman In Mind (1985)
> Henceforward... (1986)
> A Small Family Business (1987)
> Haunting Julia (1994)
> Comic Potential (1998)
> My Sister Sadie (2003)
> Private Fears In Public Places (2004)
Plays which just missed out on a place in the list include The Norman Conquests (one or three plays!), Man Of The Moment, Invisible Friends and Time Of My Life.
To submit your question to Ask The Archivist, email Simon Murgatroyd at: admin@alanayckbourn.net labelled Ask The Archivist.
