We've had a number of requests in recent weeks concerning Alan Ayckbourn's latest play Roundelay and how probability affected the performances.
Roundelay features five different plays (The Agent, The Judge, The Novelist, The Politician, The Star), the order in which they were performed determined by a random public draw prior to each performance. Theoretically, there are 120 possible permutations of the play affecting not only the order of the inter-linked plays, but also the narrative and how the audience perceives the characters and events.
The Roundelay stage-management team kept a record of all the permutations during the play's initial run at the Stephen Joseph Theatre and its subsequent tour to Newcastle-under-Lyme and Bowness-on-Windemere.
For those interested, the results for the 35 performances at the Stephen Joseph Theatre are produced below. During the initial month-long run, there were just three repeats of previously seen permutations. So 32 of the 120 possible permutations were performed.
Performances with a star indicate a repeated permutation with the number of the original performance in brackets.
Roundelay: Stephen Joseph Theatre permutations
1 Politician; Novelist; Star; Judge; Agent
2 Novelist; Politician; Agent; Judge; Star
3 Politician; Star; Judge; Agent; Novelist
4 Star; Novelist; Politician; Judge; Agent
5 Politician; Star; Novelist; Agent; Judge
6 Judge; Novelist; Politician; Star; Agent
7 Judge; Star; Novelist; Agent; Politician
8 Politician; Novelist; Star; Agent; Judge
9 Star; Agent; Politician; Judge; Novelist
10 Agent; Judge; Star; Novelist; Politician
11 Agent; Novelist; Judge; Star; Politician
12 Star; Agent; Politician; Judge; Novelist * (9)
13 Politician; Judge; Star; Novelist; Agent
14 Politician; Agent; Star; Novelist; Judge
15 Judge; Agent; Politician; Star; Novelist
16 Star; Judge; Agent; Politician; Novelist
17 Star; Novelist; Politician; Judge; Agent * (4)
18 Judge; Novelist; Agent; Politician; Star
19 Agent; Novelist; Star; Politician; Judge
20 Novelist; Star; Judge; Politician; Agent
21 Novelist; Judge; Politician; Agent; Star
22 Agent; Politician; Novelist; Star; Judge
23 Judge; Star; Politician; Novelist; Agent
24 Star; Judge; Politician; Agent; Novelist
25 Star; Judge; Agent; Novelist; Politician
26 Novelist; Agent; Judge; Politician; Star
27 Star; Novelist; Agent; Judge; Politician
28 Novelist; Judge; Politician; Agent; Star * (21)
29 Agent; Star; Politician; Novelist; Judge
30 Star; Politician; Agent; Novelist; Judge
31 Judge; Politician; Agent; Novelist; Star
32 Agent; Star; Politician; Judge; Novelist
33 Star; Politician; Novelist; Agent; Judge
34 Star; Politician; Agent; Judge; Novelist
35 Novelist; Agent; Star; Politician; Judge
A complete list of all the permutations performed of Roundelay during 2014 can now be found in the Roundelay section of www.alanayckbourn.net.
Many thanks to the Stephen Joseph Theatre Roundelay stage management team who kept track of all the permutations and kindly provided the website with the spreadsheet.
