Sir Alan Ayckbourn is one of Britain’s most successful and prolific playwrights, as well as a world-renowned director of in-the-round staging. He has received more than 35 awards and honours, including a Tony and two Olivier Awards. In 1987 he received a CBE and in 1997 he was knighted for his services to theatre. Almost half of his plays have been performed on London’s West End and in 1975 he had three plays running simultaneously on Broadway
Born in London in 1939, Sir Alan got his first theatre job at the age of 17 as an acting stage manager at the Edinburgh Festival and in 1957 was employed by the director Stephen Joseph, again as acting stage manager, at the Library Theatre in Scarborough.
The Library Theatre had been founded by Stephen Joseph and opened in July 1955 on the first floor of the public library on Vernon Road. Stephen Joseph was passionate about supporting new playwrights and challenged Alan Ayckbourn to write his own play after listening to his complaints about the quality of a script. The following year saw the world premiere of Ayckbourn’s first play The Square Cat at the Library Theatre.
Alan Ayckbourn is deeply committed to regional theatre and as of 2022 has written 87 plays, almost all of which have premiered in Scarborough. In 1972 he became Artistic Director of the Library Theatre and was involved in its moves to new premises, firstly in 1976 to the former Westwood School and again in 1996 to its present home at the Stephen Joseph Theatre on Westborough (formerly Scarborough’s Odeon Cinema). This refurbishment of the empty cinema building took over five years. Sir Alan stepped down from his role as Artistic Director in 2009.
Ayckbourn’s plays have entertained and enlightened audiences for over five decades. He is well known for his satirical portrayals of middle class English life, but he also addresses serious human themes, especially the difficulties of relationships and the failure of men and women to understand each other. As a writer and a director he is a master of innovation and surprise. In the play Way Upstream (1983), for example, the staging involved a real waterway and a moving boat.
