10 Alan Ayckbourn Plays and Musicals to Perform

Olivier and Tony Award-winning playwright Alan Ayckbourn has written more than 80 works for the stage. Get to some of his shows, new and old, with these suggestions of titles to perform…

A Brief History of Women by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play, Comedy / 3m, 3f)
A comedy in four parts about an unremarkable man and the remarkable women who loved him, left him, or lost him over sixty years; and of the equally remarkable old manor house that saw and heard it all happen.

A Chorus of Disapproval by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 7m, 6f)
A diffident widower attempts to escape loneliness by joining the local amateur light operatic society. By accident rather than by design, he advances from a small part to the lead. “Symmetrically shaped, psychologically acute and painfully, heart-breakingly funny” (The Guardian).

Arrivals and Departures by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play / 6m, 5f, 2girl(s))
A poignant, timely comedy of two strangers meeting in the midst of an increasingly farcical anti-terrorist operation. Alan Ayckbourn’s 77th play shows he has lost none of his theatrical inventiveness.

Awaking Beauty by Alan Ayckbourn, Denis King
(Full Length Musical, Comedy / 5m, 5f)
Ever wondered what else happened to Sleeping Beauty when she finally woke up in the twenty-first century? Alan Ayckbourn provides the answer with this alternative seasonal fare in the musical Awaking Beauty — perfect for your next Christmas show.

Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play, Comedy / 4m, 4f)
Taking place sequentially in the three beleaguered couples’ bedrooms during one endless Saturday night of co-dependence and dysfunction, beds, tempers, and domestic order are ruffled, leading all the players to a hilariously touching epiphany.

Better Off Dead by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play / 4m, 3f)
Larger than life and highly irascible author Algy Waterbridge is hard at work on his 33rd crime novel featuring blunt Yorkshire cop DCI Tommy Middlebrass. But it’s been a while since Tommy was on the TV, Algy’s wife is getting frighteningly forgetful and his adoring PA sometimes oversteps the mark.

Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations by Alan Ayckbourn
(Short Play / 4m, 5f, 12m or f)
Ernie has been having some very vivid daydreams, and his thoughts have a disconcerting way of turning into reality… Alan Ayckbourn’s bright comedy for young people is highly imaginative, entertaining and full of surprises. A fun short piece, perfect for schools and youth groups.

The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play, Drama / 3m, 3f)
Living Together, Round and Round the Garden, and Table Manners make up this trilogy of plays. All occur during a single weekend in different parts of the same house and concern a group of related people. Each is complete in itself and can be played alone, or as a group they can be performed in any order.

Roundelay by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Play / 4m, 4f)
Five self-contained one-act plays, written to be performed in any order, all of which are connected in some way. The order they are seen in affecting the audience’s perception of the plays and characters.

Whenever by Alan Ayckbourn
(Full Length Musical, Comedy / 5m, 4f)
Beginning in 1886, this historical-futuristic musical finds Emily’s good Uncle Martin inventing a time-machine that wicked Uncle Lucas wants to get his hands on… “A historical-futuristic-farcical-grown-up-romantic musical adventure. Far too good to be wasted on adults” (The Guardian).

Discover a wide range of Alan Ayckbourn plays and musicals to perform.