University throws spotlight on Ayckbourn's 'hidden' gems
Posted on 20 June 2012
The performances of Ayckbourn Shorts in the University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television on 22 and 23 June at 7.30pm will feature six of his short plays that have only been performed once and never published.
Directed by Tom Wright, the show marks the anniversary of the announcement that the University’s Borthwick Institute for Archives was to be given the custodianship of Sir Alan’s Archive.
The performances in Ayckbourn Shorts range from intimate duets to a showpiece involving complicated pyrotechnics and classic shorts, ranging from farce to horror, from the bitter-sweet to the surreal.
The plays’ scenarios include a sinister encounter with an illusionist who likes sawing women in half, a visit by Count Dracula, a reunion with the cast of Ayckbourn’s A Chorus of Disapproval (who still hate each other intensely, with outrageous results), and a life-and-death combat between a lighting man and a sound man who want the same woman, and who each uses the tricks of his trade to immobilise his rival.
This represents the first fruits of the acquisition of the Ayckbourn archive
Professor Mike Cordner
Professor Mike Cordner, of the University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television, says: “This represents the first fruits of the acquisition of the Ayckbourn archive. A number of the plays in the show were written for special occasions, have only been performed once and never published, and are now being staged by special permission from Sir Alan. They reflect the extraordinary brilliance and variety of his comic invention.”
Tom Wright is a professional director whose productions include The Container (Edinburgh Festival and Young Vic, Fringe First and Amnesty International Award-winner). He is also Associate Director of Freedom Studios. He has joined the Department of Theatre Film and Television as its Comedy Education Outreach Officer, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
His brief is to bring parties from schools and colleges to the University, to work with the Ayckbourn archives in the Borthwick and to explore comedy practically with workshops in the Department. The Outreach scheme is fully subscribed, and Tom Wright has already welcomed large numbers of 14-18-year-olds to the Department for practical experiments in its theatre spaces.
Tickets for Ayckbourn Shorts are £4 for concessions and £6 for standard tickets. Available from the York Theatre Royal Box Office (01904 623568 or online at www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Tickets booked online can be collected from the Theatre Royal or at the Theatre in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television on the night of the performance. Tickets will also be on sale at the Department of Theatre, Film and Television on the nights of performance. tftv-enquiries@york.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
- The Department of Theatre, Film and Television is one of four major academic buildings in the first phase of the University’s £750 million campus extension at Heslington East, one of the biggest capital developments in UK higher education in recent years. Its development was supported by investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in Yorkshire and the Humber, part of a major infrastructure project led by Science City York to extend the assets and strategic potential of York as a leading centre for science and innovation. More information at www.york.ac.uk/tftv
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