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1. Alan Ayckbourn was born on 12 April, 1939
to Irene Maud Worley (better known as ‘Lolly’ and who also wrote under the
pen-name of Mary James) and Horace Ayckbourn in
Hampstead.
2. Alan attended school at Wisborough Lodge and then Haileybury.
3. Alan’s professional career began as an acting stage manager (a stage
manager who also acted) and actor with Donald
Wolfit’s company with a three week engagement at the Edinburgh Festival.
4. Alan’s early career saw him work as an acting stage manager at the Connaught
Theatre (Worthing), the Thorndike Theatre (Leatherhead), the Oxford
Playhouse and the Library Theatre (Scarborough). He joined the latter in
1957.
5. Alan’s acting career ran from 1956 to 1964 and encompassed more than 50
different roles – the majority performed in-the-round.
6. Alan’s playwriting career began in 1959 with The Square Cat (having
confronted Stephen Joseph about his role in David Campton’s Ring Of Roses).
As of 2010 Alan has written 74 full-length plays; the most recent being
Life Of Riley.
7. Alan married his first wife Christine Roland in 1957; together they had
two sons Steven and Philip. Alan’s second marriage was to Heather Stoney in
1997.
8. Alan’s first production as director was Gaslight at the Library Theatre
in 1961. Since then he has directed more than 300 productions in the UK and
abroad, including the London premieres of 32 of his plays in the West End.
9. In 1962, Alan moved with the Studio Theatre Company to the Victoria
Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, as Associate Director. He both directed and acted
there, as well as premiering two new plays, before leaving the company in
1964.
10. From 1964 to 1970, Alan worked as a drama producer for BBC Radio in Leeds.
11. Alan’s first major West End success was Relatively Speaking in 1967; as
of 2010, 39 of Alan’s plays have been produced in the West End or at the
National Theatre (this does not include major fringe productions).
12. Alan Ayckbourn became the
Artistic Director (Director of Productions) of
the Library Theatre, Scarborough, in 1972. He stepped down from the position
(of what is now the Stephen Joseph Theatre) on March 31 2009.*
13. In 1974, Alan held the record for having the most plays running
simultaneously in the West End with Living Together, Table Manners,
Round
And Round The Garden, Absurd Person Singular and Absent Friends. Only Andrew
Lloyd Webber since has had more productions running concurrently.
14. The Variety Club named Alan Playwright of the Year in 1974; between 1973
and 2010, Alan has received more than 35 major theatre awards including an
Olivier Special Award in 2009. Awards for his plays include two Oliviers,
two Molieres and a Tony.
15. In 1976 Alan wrote his first play intended for end-stage performance
(Bedroom Farce); although he is primarily associated with the Round, he has
written five plays intended for the end-stage: Bedroom Farce, A Small Family
Business, Haunting Julia, Things We Do For Love and Virtual Reality.
(For the record Jeeves and House were also first performed in
the end-stage, but were not specifically written for end-stage performance)
16. In 1976, Alan and the Library Theatre company moved to the Stephen
Joseph Theatre In The Round (based at the old Boys’ Grammar School). In
1996, he would again move the company to the Stephen Joseph Theatre (based
at a former Odeon cinema).
17. From 1986 to 1988, Alan was invited by Sir Peter Hall to form his own
company at the National Theatre. He directed A Small Family Business,
A View
From The Bridge, Tons Of Money and ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore.
18. In 1992, Alan was appointed Cameron Macintosh Visiting Professor of
Contemporary Theatre, at the University of Oxford.
19. Alan was awarded a CBE (Companion of the Order of the British Empire) in
1987. Ten years later to the day, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II ‘for
services to the theatre.’
20. Fatuous fact: Alan Ayckbourn has been said to be the most performed
living playwright in the world. There is no plausible way either to prove or
disprove this. But he is undoubtedly very, very popular….
These facts have been compiled by Simon Murgatroyd with the help of Alan
Ayckbourn and Heather Stoney. They are correct at the time of publication.
* For further details about Alan's position as
Artistic Director and the confusion over the year he took the job, click
here.
The 20 Facts can also be downloaded for reproduction and reference by
clicking
here.
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