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: Yesterday's article noted Clifford Williams had directed the world premiere of two of Alan Ayckbourn's plays, how many other people have directed world premieres of his work?
Answer: Alan Ayckbourn has written 77 (soon to be 78!) plays, of which he has directed the world premieres of 70 of them. He first directed the world premiere of one of his own plays with Mr Whatnot in 1963 at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-On-Trent.
From that point with only two exceptions (see below), he directed the world premiere of all his plays. Of the remaining plays, here are the people who directed their world premieres:
Stephen Joseph: The Square Cat (1959), Standing Room Only (1961); Relatively Speaking (1965 - originally titled Meet My Father)
Clifford Williams: Love After All (1959); Dad's Tale (1960)
Peter Cheeseman: Christmas V Mastermind (1962)
Eric Thompson: Jeeves (1975)
To submit your question to Ask The Archivist, email Simon Murgatroyd at: admin@alanayckbourn.net labelled Ask The Archivist.
