Alan Ayckbourn: Actor

A Man For All Seasons (1963)

Production Details

Play:
Author:

First performance:
Final performance:
Venue:
Staging:

Director:
Music:
A Man For All Seasons
Robert Bolt

13 May 1963
1 June 1963
Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
Round

Peter Cheeseman
Gilbert Kennedy
Character
The Common Man
Thomas More
Richard Rich
The Duke
Alice More
Margaret More
The Cardinal
Thomas Cromwell
The Ambassador
His Attendent
William Roper
The King
A Woman
The Archbishop
Actor
David Halliwell
Alan Ayckbourn
David Jarrett
Dan Cornwall
Elizabeth Bell
Heather Stoney
Stanley Stewart
Stanley Page
John Powrie
Arnold Beck
Norman Coburn
Peter King
Caroline Smith
Stanley Stewart

Quotes & Notes

During 1962, the Studio Theatre Ltd company moved from its home at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, to a new permanent venue at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent. Alan Ayckbourn joined the move to the new venue, responsible for writing, directing and acting. Very little is held in Alan Ayckbourn's personal archive about the plays he was involved in during 1963 and there are no programmes, press cuttings or reviews of the shows held in archive.

1963 marked the last year Alan did any substantial amount of acting prior to his retiring from acting to concentrate on writing and directing from 1964 onwards.

A Man For All Seasons was quite unusual in that whilst the majority of plays at the Victoria Theatre at this point were performed for three weeks, this was mostly in repertory. A Man For All Seasons was performed for three consecutive weeks, possibly due to the scale of the play.

Review extract from the Evening Sentinel (14 May 1963)
"Alan Ayckbourn portrayed [Thomas More] in a most powerful performance. Here was the dignity of humility, the massive inner-strength of faith, and the firm resolve bred of a character of rare metal."
All research for this page by Simon Murgatroyd.