As 2016 draws to a close, it's time to have a look at some of the notable Ayckbourn-related news from the past 12 months.
> 2016 turned out to be something of a bumper year for new plays by Alan Ayckbourn, although there was some confusion as to which if any was the big new play! As usual, all the plays premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, starting with The Karaoke Theatre Company, followed by Consuming Passions and No Knowing.
> The Karaoke Theatre Company marked the first time Alan Ayckbourn had written a piece specifically intended for improvisation as the company of the title staged several short pieces with the help of the audience. It marked a striking new departure for the playwright and highlighted an alarming propensity amongst Scarborough audiences for cross-dressing!
> This was followed by Consuming Passions, which consisted of two parts - Premonitions and Repercussions - which were performed as individual shows at the SJT before being combined into one full-length piece later in the season; at which point it was revealed this was actually Alan Ayckbourn's 80th full-length play - a piece of news held back by the playwright as he didn't wish for the play to be promoted on the back of what he felt was an arbitrary number.
> The year ended with the last of the new Ayckbourn plays with No Knowing running at the SJT throughout December. A Christmas-set play looking at marriage, it's somewhat notable for having a speech on marriage which closely resembles a speech from an unproduced play written by the author at the age of 17 in 1958!
> The Stephen Joseph Theatre also staged the first major revival of Henceforward... for more than two decades. The dystopian, future-set drama drew acclaim and proved to be as pertinent as ever with its look at creativity, love and the pernicious creep of technology.
> Outside of the plays, Alan Ayckbourn was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of Oxford Literary Festival.
> Although there wasn't much in the way of publications this year, there was a new edition of Unseen Ayckbourn with illustrations for the first time; the book includes images of 20 items in the Ayckbourn Archive related to the book's exploration of lost, unwritten and unpublished plays as well as other interesting and unseen Ayckbourn ideas and works.
> Amateur companies wanting to tackle some new Ayckbourn plays now have the chance with the welcome release of Arrivals & Departures alongside Hero's Welcome and Roundelay with more coming soon.
> There was an Ayckbourn world-first for the only amateur company dedicated to Alan Ayckbourn's plays; Huddersfield's Dick & Lottie company staged a double-bill of Woman In Mind and Invisible Friends, two plays which it became apparent in performance were even more connected than the playwright has previously suggested. The two plays had never been performed in repertory before.
> Back in Scarborough, the Premier Patrons event at the Stephen Joseph Theatre was launched and offered exclusive access to Alan Ayckbourn's rehearsals as well as the chance to be some of the first victims, sorry volunteers, to try their hand in The Karoake Theatre Company. Details of a new SJT event which will also include some exclusive Ayckbourn events will be announced at www.sjt.uk.com soon.
> Ayckbourn outside of Scarborough of note saw an excellent West End revival of How The Other Half Loves - apparently the first since its West End premiere in 1970; I say apparently as it actually wasn't! Despite being advertised as such, the play had been revived at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1988. Pitlochry Festival Theatre staged a very welcome revival of the Damsels In Distress trilogy in its entirety. Meanwhile, Robin Herford directed an acclaimed and successful tour of the classic Ayckbourn play Relatively Speaking around the country with Robert Powell and Liza Goddard. As always, there's far too many Ayckbourn productions to highlight during the year.
> Across the Atlantic in New York, the city saw the premier of the Ayckbourn classic Confusions, a mere 40-odd years after its world premiere! The 59E59 Theaters welcomed Alan Ayckbourn and his company with his revival of Confusions and the world premiere production of Hero's Welcome, both of which proved to be a great success at the Brits Off Broadway festival.
> Closer to home, it's been another record-breaking year for Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website with more visitors than ever. This year saw the notable addition of Archive pages to many of the plays as well as new sections including a Significant Ayckbourn Dates section, an addition of dozens of interviews and articles by the playwright as well as a revamped Ayckbourn shop.
> Alan also made a surprise contribution to a major British writing anniversary with a contribution of songs to the show Where's Peter Rabbit? at The World Of Beatrix Potter Attraction in Bowness-on-Windermere, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter.
> It's also been a sad year seeing the passing of several notable Ayckbourn actors, who all made their mark in Ayckbourn world premieres between the 1960s and 1980s. This year we said goodbye to Lavinia Bertram, Graeme Eton, Lesley Meade and Stanley Page; all notable actors who made lasting marks with associations with Alan Ayckbourn at the Library Theatre and the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round.
The blog will be looking forward to some of the Ayckbourn treats coming in 2017 in the New Year.
