RLT’s early Summer play wraps up our 82^nd season:

a British comedy by Alan Ayckbourn

the 3rd play in The Norman Conquests trilogy

produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

DIRECTOR: Colleen Hawkesford

PERFORMANCES: June 11 thru 14, 2008

SYNOPSIS:

In this play Sarah's desperate attempts to have a nice, civilized week end culminate, not surprisingly, in disaster. Ruth, Norman's wife, is summoned but Norman still contrives to cause havoc involving, finally, all three women. Matters are not helped by such events as the slow thinking Tom mistaking Ruth's intentions during a conversation they have together.

"Superb comic trilogy. Mr. Ayckbourn is the most remarkable British dramatist to have emerged since Harold Pinter." London Sunday Times.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:

Alan Ayckbourn one of the world’s most popular and prolific professional playwrights. He has written 70 full plays and more than 20 other revues and plays for children. Born in 1939, Alan got an early start in the theatre as a stage manager and actor, which inadvertently led to his first professional commission as a writer when in 1958. His first hit play in 1967 was Relatively Speaking. Alan became Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1972, a position he has retained ever since.

Alan has directed the West End premieres of his plays since 1975. He is internationally renowned for his writing and plays such as The Norman Conquests trilogy are regarded as classics of 20th century British theatre. His plays of the 1960’s, 70’s, and early 80’s are often described as being middle-class and suburban, about men and women, their relationships and their general inability to live with each other.

More than half his plays have gone on to London to be produced in the West End or at the National Theatre. At one point, he held the record for having the most professional productions of his work being performed simultaneously in the West End (The Norman Conquests, Absurd Person Singular and Absent Friends). Alan’s plays have been regularly produced in America and more than 10 of his plays have been produced on Broadway and Off-Broadway. At one point he held the record of having the most plays simultaneously running on Broadway (The Norman Conquests and Absurd Person Singular). In February 2006, Alan suffered a stroke but by September of the same year was directing his latest play If I Were You. In 2007, Alan is already scheduled to direct the end-stage tour of If I Were You and the final two plays in the Intimate Exchanges cycle at Scarborough.

CAST and CREW

Norman: Martin Krieser
Annie: Kelly Sanchuk
Reg: Ken Spencer
Sarah: Angel Genereux
Tom: Scott Krieser
Ruth: Andrea McNeil

Stage Manager: Wendy Schoenroth
ASM: David Warford.
Artistic Consultant: Melodi Hawkesford
Set design: Colleen Hawkesford, Andrea McNeil
Costumes: Nora Berg
Lights/sound: Lyle McMillan
Music: Colleen Hawkesford