Time And Time Again

Written by Alan Ayckbourn

Thurs 24th - Sat 27th September & Tues 29th September - Sat 3rd October 1992

Directed by David Hemsley-Brown

Ayckbourn at his comic best as love is sought, fought for, won and lost in a tangle of suburban relationships. Dreamer Leonard, pompous Graham and sporting Peter all want the same girl, but she may prefer Bernard the fishing gnome....

AuthorAlan Ayckbourn

Alan Ayckbourn (b 1939)

Alan Ayckbourn is one of the most prolific and widely performed of living English language playwrights and a highly regarded theatre director. He has written 74 full length plays and has won Olivier, Tony and Molière Awards for his work.

Ayckbourn was born in Hampstead and wrote his first play at prep school when he was about 10. After leaving school at 17, he began a temporary job at the Scarborough Library Theatre. In 1957, he married Christine Roland, another member of the company, and his first two plays were written jointly with her under the pseudonym of "Roland Allen". They had two sons, however the marriage had difficulties which eventually led to their separation in 1971. Neither he nor Christine sought a divorce for the next thirty years and it was only in 1997 that they formally divorced after which Ayckbourn married Heather Stoney.

In 1962 he became Associate Director of the Victoria Theatre Stoke-on-Trent and two years later he was a Radio Drama Producer for the BBC in Leeds. Ayckbourn established himself as a popular playwright in the the 1960s achieving West End successes with 'Relatively Speaking' and 'How The Other Half Loves' In the 70s he returned to Scarborough as the Director of Productions.

In 2007, following a stroke he announced he would step down from his role as Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Ayckbourn, however, continues to write and direct his own work at the theatre and in 2009, his contribution to theatre was recognised by the Olivier's Special Award.

PlayTime And Time Again

'Time And Time Again' was written in 1971 and premiered at The Library Theatre, Scarborough that same year. Mistaken identity and Battenburg cake combine to amuse audiences who see love born during a cricket match and lost during a game of football. A fishing gnome also features in this witty tale of British eccentricity. The play opens in spring after a funeral. We meet husband and wife; Graham and Anna, Anna's brother Leonard, Graham's employee Peter and Peter's girlfriend Joan who are having tea. Some months later and Joan's affections have transferred to Leonard - although Peter is blissfully unaware. When the penny does eventually drop for Peter it drops entirely in the wrong direction and he thinks it is it the lecherous Graham who has stolen Joan from him. Needless to say, confusion ensues.

The Bench Production

Time And Time Again poster image

This play was staged at Havant Arts Centre, East Street Havant - Bench Theatre's home since 1977.

Characters

LeonardPete Woodward
GrahamPeter le Feuvre
JoanCatherine Bates
AnnaSally Hartley
PeterAlan Jenkins

Crew

Director David Hemsley-Brown
Stage Manager Aislinn D'Souza
Lights Andrew Pees
Set Design David Hemsley-Brown
Props Andrew Ingle
Front of House Rita de Bunsen

Production Photographs