“LIVING TOGETHER ” “a humorous salute to the human condition
Living Together is one of The Norman Conquests, a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. The small scale of the drama is typical of Ayckbourn. There are only six characters, namely Norman, his wife Ruth, her brother Reg and his wife Sarah, Ruth's sister Annie, and Tom, Annie's next-door-neighbour. The plays are at times wildly comic, and at times poignant in their portrayals of the relationships between six more or less unhappy characters. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. TableManners is set in the dining room, Living Together in the living room, and Round and Round the Garden in the garden. Each play is self-contained, and they may be watched in any order. Some of the scenes overlap, and on several occasions a character's exit from one play corresponds with an entrance in another. Having said that, the plays were not written to be performed simultaneously; this is fortunate as we only have oneMemorial Hall!
CAST
(in order of appearance)
Reg ... .................................................... Andrew Cheyne
Sarah ... ................................................. Maria Horton
Norman ... ............................................. DanielMumby
Annie ... .................................................. Antonia Giacomini
Tom ... .................................................... Mark Humble
Ruth ... .................................................... Ruth Potts
PRODUCTION TEAM
Prompt ... ................................................ Lindy Conway
Lighting/Sound ... .................................. Brendan Browne
StageManager... .................................... Steph Wilkinson
Front of House Manager ... .................. Sheila Lilley and team
Stage set ... ............................................ John Lilley
Publicity Graphics ... ............................. Meg Dixon
Production Programme ... ................... Paddy Conway
Director/Producer... ............................... Mike Dixon
THANKS TO
Warkworth
Village Shop and
N&F Young,
Amble for the
sale of tickets.
Amble Photographic Society for the pictures.
All others who
have lent
equipment or
helped the
production in any
way.
ACT 1
Scene 1 – Saturday, 6:30 p.m
Scene 2 – Saturday, 8:00 p.m.
ACT 2
Scene 1 – Sunday, 9:00 p.m.
Scene 2 –Monday, 8:00 a.m.
ALAN
AYCKBOURN
Born in 1939, his first professional job was as acting stage manager with Sir DonaldWolfitt's company. He joined the
Library Theatre in 1957 as Acting Stage Manager, returning the following year as an actor. It was there in 1959 that his first
play (The Square Cat) was premiered. In 1972 he became Artistic Director at Scarborough; he plans to step down next year.
1972 also saw the World Premiere of The Norman Conquests (his 14th play). In 1974 he had a 5 plays running concurrently in London’s West End, a record surpassed only by Andrew Lloyd Webber (with whom incidentally, he collaborated on By
Jeeves in 1996), His plays have attracted 9 awards including Evening Standard – Best Play for theNorman Conquests in 1974.
He holds 2 honorary doctorates, was made CBE in 1987 and knighted 10 years later. From 1981 to 83 he was statistically the
most watched and performed playwright leading to the Arts Council headline: “Ayckbournmore popular than Shakespeare”.
He has published 72 full length plays and numerous other works.
“I try to make my plays events, not plays,with lots of things happening."
“I just can't imagine being alive without a play in me somewhere.”
Alan Ayckbourn
We were pleased to welcome Danial and Mark to our group, young men are always hard to find!
If you like acting, back-stage work, or just having fun then come along and join us, all are welcome.
