In this seminal guide to playmaking, renowned playwright Alan Ayckbourn shares his tricks of the trade. From helpful hints on writing to tips on directing, this book provides a complete primer for the newcomer and a refresher for those with more experience. Written in Ayckbourn's signature style tha[...]

Plays One:
"A Chorus of Disapproval"
"A Small Family Business "
"Henceforward..."
"Man of the Moment"
Alan Ayckbourn introduces his first volume of collected work that contains his morality plays from the 1980s.
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Now we don't want to start Christmas like this, do we? Cheating at snakes and ladders, fighting over comic books, a bungled infidelity beneath the tree. Christmas has arrived in the Bunker household along with family and friends. But as the children lurk just out of sight, it's the adults who are le[...]

Features such plays as: "Snake in the Grass"; "If I Were You"p; "Life and Beth"; "My Wonderful Day"; and, "Life of Riley".[...]

Characters: 2 male, 4 female Comedy Winnie is nearly nine. Her mum, Laverne, is second-generation Afro-Caribbean and heavily pregnant but continues with her cleaning job since her husband left while she dreams of moving the family back to Martinique. Tuesdays are special: Laverne insists that Winnie[...]

Three comedies, each taking place at the same time and in the same house but in different rooms center on the same character, Norman, who is the cause of considerable confusion to his family[...]

A scathing comedy of social striving in the suburbs, Absurd Person Singular follows the fortunes of three couples who turn up in each other's kitchens on three successive Christmases, to hilarious and devastating effect.[...]