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A Brief History of Women

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  3w, 3m

Alan Ayckbourn

A comedy in four parts about an unremarkable man and the remarkable women who loved him, left him, or lost him over sixty years; and of the equally remarkable old manor house that saw and heard it all happen.

A Brief History of Women

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

From his first unsettling encounter as a very young man in 1925 to an unexpected reunion late in life, Anthony Spates' romantic progress is charted in this hilarious and gently touching comedy. The fireworks, love, and loss come at the funniest moments in this Ayckbourn comedy.

History
A Brief History of Women premiered on 5 September 2017 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. The play went on to a short in-the-round tour in autumn 2017. On 26 April 2017, the play premiered off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters as part of the "Brits Off Broadway" festival.
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Performing Groups

A Brief History of Women is written for a cast of six (3 women, 3 men). The suggested (and preferred!) distribution of the 21 roles is as follows:

ANTHONY SPATES – aged 17-77

LORD EDWARD KIRKBRIDGE – aged 65
DR WYNFORD WILLIAMS – aged 50
DENNIS DUNBAR – aged 50
GORDON – aged 50

CAPTAIN FERGUS FFLUKE – aged 27
DESMOND KENNEDY – aged 30
RORY TUDOR – aged 27
JIM SEABOURNE-WATSON – aged 30

LADY CAROLINE KIRKBRIDGE – aged 38
MISS EVA MILLER – aged 40
PAT WRIGGLY – aged 40
CAROLINE SEABOURNE – aged 97

LADY CYNTHIA – aged 20
MISS URSULA BROCK – aged 25
JENNY TYLER – aged 22
TILLY SEABOURNE-WATSON – aged 27

MRS REGINALD FFLUKE – aged 50
MISS PHOEBE LONG – aged 45
GILLIAN DUNBAR – aged 45
RUBY JENSEN – aged 40

  • Setting

    Kirkbridge Manor (1925), Preparatory School (1945), Arts Centre (1965) and Hotel (1985).

  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“So painfully, awkwardly sad that it is downright hilarious.” – The New York Times

“After more than half a century in the theater, Mr. Ayckbourn clearly still has the power to startle us into the most appropriately inappropriate reactions... Mr. Ayckbourn’s enduring and infectious affection for theater permeates every scene.” – The New York Times

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

10 Alan Ayckbourn Plays and Musicals to Perform
by Cathy Thomas
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Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

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Authors

Alan Ayckbourn

Alan Ayckbourn

A playwright and theatre director, to date Alan Ayckbourn has written 89 plays – Family Album attracted four-star reviews when it premiered in September 2022 at the Stephen Joseph, where nearly all his plays are first staged.

However, this year he will stage his 88th play Welc ...

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