Alan Ayckbourn: Short Biography

This is the officially approved short biography for Alan Ayckbourn - updated for 2022 - which is used in programmes and other publications. It is available to reproduce for free providing this website is credited.

Alan Ayckbourn
Playwright & Director

A playwright and theatre director, to date Alan has written 90 plays - Constant Companions attracted four-star reviews when it premiered in September 2023 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre where nearly all his plays are first staged.

Before the pandemic his other work, having won countless awards, could be seen on stage and television throughout the world so it was good news when this year Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present was staged in Germany to a terrific response.

Relatively Speaking, How The Other Half Loves, The Norman Conquests, Season's Greetings, A Chorus of Disapproval, Absurd Person Singular and Woman in Mind were all recently revived to great acclaim.

In New York, his biennial visits with the SJT company performing his plays for the Brits off Broadway Festival at 59E59 Theatres regularly received an enthusiastic reception. Sadly, Covid has meant there has been no recent return visit to the festival.

He wrote a best-selling guide to writing and directing,
The Crafty Art of Playmaking. This is still in print. His first 'novel', The Divide, was published in 2019.

Inducted into American Theatre's Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Critics' Circle Award for Services to the Arts, he became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was knighted in 1997 for services to the theatre.


Source: Alan Ayckbourn's official website www.alanayckbourn.net.

Copyright: Haydonning Ltd.