Joking Apart
by Alan Ayckbourn

Name: Joking Apart
Brand: Alan Ayckbourn
SKU: 9780573112041
Rating: 3.67 (11 reviews)

Joking Apart Book Cover — Joking Apart Cover

Highlights

Medium Cast

Female

Male

Reduced Casting (Doubling Possible)Exterior SetBritish Comedy

What readers are saying

Readers appreciate the insightful humor and relatable situations in the play, often praising Ayckbourn's talent. Many find it to be a well-constructed comedy that resonates with everyday life, though a few express that it may not be among his strongest works.

Relatable and humorous situationsWell-constructed comedyAyckbourn's talent shines throughSome characters feel strained

Synopsis

Another marvelous portrait of middle class, middle aged life by this skillful portrayer of manners and morals.

Charming, naturally successful in everything, Anthea and Richard almost unconsciously but ruthlessly dominate the lives of those with whom they are associated in business or as neighbors.

Over twelve years Sven, Richard's partner, is virtually nudged out of the firm Brian tries, ineffectually, through a series of girl friends to replace his love, Anthea Hugh, a local vicar, falls hopelessly for Anthea Hugh's wife is driven to drugs by Anthea and Richard's kindness.

The play ends with Anthea's daughter, Debbie, awaiting the guests for her eighteenth birthday party with Brian making one last attempt for an Anthea substitute.

Press Reviews

"Time has always been a key component in Alan Ayckbourn's comedies, but usually in the form of amazing tricks with simultaneity and compression. In his twenty-first play, Ayckbourn reverses the procedure with an action spanning 12 years, which shows time to be no laughing matter."
— The Times