Alan Ayckbourn: The Unproduced Plays

The 'unproduced plays' are full-length works written and completed by Alan Ayckbourn which have not, at the time of writing, been produced.

This page primarily serves to acknowledge the existence and providence of the plays prior to inclusion into the Ayckbourn Archive at the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York; this allows the playwright to assert that whilst there may be unproduced works within the archive, there are no lost or undiscovered works.

The Unproduced Plays

○ A Case of Missing Wives (2016): A police procedural play intended for production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre during 2017 but replaced by A Brief History of Women. As elements of A Case of Missing Wives were later incorporated into Better Off Dead, it is unlikely this play will ever be produced.
○ Men, Meals & Me (2018): A play in which the central character is played by three characters representing different aspects of her personality, intended for production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre during 2019 but which was replaced by Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present.
○ Small Mercy (2019): A play about media manipulation intended for production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre during 2020, but which was replaced by Truth Will Out.
○ Another Time, Another Place (2020): A play in two parts intended to be presented simultaneously in two auditoria with live video links connecting the two plays.
○ Fourplay (2020): An unproduced play written during the 2020 lockdown of which no further details are currently known.
○ Father of Invention (2021): An unproduced play written during the 2021 lockdown of which no further details are currently known, but which contains elements drawn from Small Mercy.
○ The Late Wife (2021): An unproduced play written during the 2021 lockdown of which no further details are currently known. This is one of three plays Alan wrote with the summer 2021 season slot at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in mind.

All research for this section is by Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce without crediting the author and Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website. All written material © Haydonning Ltd.