Playing the game - interview with Alan Ayckbourn

Having once rallied against the status quo, Alan Ayckbourn is now happier bending the rules than breaking them. And yet the septuagenarian is genuinely reflective when we chat on the eve of his Oxford extravaganza, which includes an Ayckbourn triple-bill he calls The Bundle, as well as a rare public appearance at the Playhouse.

Arguably the country’s most famous playwright, Sir Alan, who was knighted for his services to theatre in 1997, is happy to reminisce. He’s objective about his early days in the industry, denying any suggestions that he’s either slowing down or dumbing down his subject matter.

Instead, Ayckbourn is keen to highlight that with age comes wisdom and that banging your head against a brick wall isn’t always the way forward, however revolutionary it might seem at the time.

“When I was young and experimental I was determined to break the rules and make my voice heard through a welter of indifference,” he remembers, “because you need to get their attention — ‘hey, I’m young and I’ve got something to say in a new way!’ “Nowadays I have the same passion but with confidence in what I do because I know how to do it. I’ve traded reactionary for technical because now I have the ability. It’s a bit like painting; I now know how to fill the canvas instead of flailing about with a paintbrush.”

Neither does he accept his plays are becoming run-of-the-mill, pointing out that while the topics might not be groundbreaking, a play’s format is more interesting to him. “Someone once said before you break all the rules you should find out what they are, because there are certain structural rules; a play needs a beginning, a middle, and an end, so do it properly,” he says firmly. “I’m currently more interested in finding a new way into a play and the most interesting way to tell a story.”

This has led Ayckbourn to write plays with 16 endings, or run them simultaneously in two different theatres, “it’s about how you approach it,” he adds. “So the structure of Arrivals & Departures (part of the trilogy and his 77th play) is one I haven’t done or seen. It’s unique to me,” he says happily.

He also points out that, topics-wise, he is often ahead of the game. “My piece on inner-city riots was written three months before the London riots so it wasn’t a reaction. I’m interested in reactors who become aggressors when pushed. So yes, I put myself in their shoes and have a viewpoint of the silent minority. But it’s not a case of ‘ahah I must write something interesting about this’,” he chuckles.

And yet where does a 78-year-old get all his ideas, especially as he’s not out and about as much, having stood down as artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough after 37 years. “The reminder of my stroke [in 2006] is still with me, “he admits, “and healthwise I’m slow-moving, my legs are dodgy, I’ve had a new hip, and have arthritic knees, but the head’s all right, thank God,” he chuckles.

“But if you live in the real world and listen and read and talk, you have a vague idea of what’s going on, you get a gist, and understand people’s concerns. They register somewhere in my subconscious.

“So while I never know what the next play is going to be, everything sprouts from an initial idea, though often I have an idea growing for months but when I sit down to write it, I realise it’s a no-go.”

Being constantly around young people and actors is also a great insight. “I went to Seattle recently and it was like a shot in the arm, new people, new theatre, new place... in theatre you work with people of every age and their enthusiasm is infectious, so we fire each other up. It’s a good process because if I were stuck in a room with people my own age, talking about the old days, it wouldn’t be good for my plays.”

Ayckbourn’s prolific career shows no sign of abating, his output speeding up if anything, as time runs out. But he denies he’s in a rush: “Fortunately I have two strings to my bow – director and writer — and they feed each other. When I don’t do either of those I’m taciturn and mope around until someone says ‘for goodness sake find him something to do’,” he laughs.

As if to prove the point his next Oxford appearance comes ahead of an Ayckbourn triple bill and Fridays at 5 event where you can see him in person. “I don’t do as many public appearances as before, it’s quite rare these days, but give me time and a good set of steps...” he jokes. As for his interviewer Paul Allen, Ayckbourn adds: “he knows more about me than I do — and all the bits I have forgotten.”

As for the triple bill, Ayckbourn is never happier than when he has a play on. “I love the prospect of opening a new play, sharing it with the actors, then with an audience and moving on to the next one, like a mad board-game inventor who just wants to play his new game.”

So does he still get nervous? “If I didn’t know roughly what I was doing by this stage, I’d have learnt nothing. But I love Oxford, I have many happy memories there, so I’m looking forward to it. These are the days and I never take that for granted.”

Alan Ayckbourn appears tomorrow at Fridays at 5pm in support of Oxford Playhouse. He will be interviewed by his biographer Paul Allen about life and work. Next week the Ayckbourn Ensemble runs at Oxford Playhouse February 3–8

Arrivals and Departures
* An elaborate trap to capture an elusive terrorist at a London station. The witness, a traffic warden, accompanied by a troubled young female soldier, will give final identification. What could go wrong?
Time of My Life
* Laura Stratton’s birthday and, to celebrate, the family gather for a night out in their favourite restaurant, which will prove a significant moment, with repercussions for years to come.
Farcicals: Chloe With Love and The Kidderminster Affair
* A double bill of two frivolously funny one-act farces that follow the misadventures of two married couples.