Articles by Alan Ayckbourn
This article about Family Circles was written by Alan Ayckbourn for a revival at the Orange Tree, Richmond, in 1978.Family Circles
This production of The Story So Far... takes me back a bit. At least, that is what we called the play in Scarborough where it was first produced in 1970. Later under its second title, Me Times Me Time Me, it was presented at Leicester in 1971 and subsequently toured by Eddie Kulukundis. Later, in 1972, it was toured again, this time by Michael Codron starring Celia Johnson and Roland Culver but did not come into London.Chronologically in my writing, the play was written between How The Other Half Loves and Time And Time Again. Stylistically it does something to bridge the otherwise rather abrupt change that occurs between the technical farcicalities of the former and the mellower tones of the latter.
The reason for this sudden switch might be found in the last act of Family Circles which must be termed complicated. My admiration for the Orange Tree in tackling the play is enormous.
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