Time Of My Life

A new production by Alan Ayckbourn comes with extra input from the great playwright himself, writes Alan Cookman

SIR Alan Ayckbourn's fondness for experimenting with time created a difference of opinion within the ranks of the Longsdon Amateur Dramatic Society, aka LADS.

Time Of My Life, which the company are presenting this month, is one of Ayckbourn's "time plays."

Although the setting is the same, some characters move backwards in time, while others move forward or remain in the present.

Some members of LADS wondered if these shifts in time should be signalled to the audience to avoid confusion.

But director John Edwards was reluctant to resort to any kind of explanatory device. "Ayckbourn likes to play around, and my feelings were that we should leave it to the audience to work out the author's intentions," said John.

For the definitive view, however, John contacted the master himself, and Sir Alan, pictured, sent an immediate reply by email, urging the group not to give notice of time changes. After first saying how delighted he was that LADS were staging Time Of My Life, the playwright went on: "Regarding the time issue – no. I didn't mark it in any way in the production. It would over-extend the piece (not to mention become a bit tedious) if time was spent on spelling it out before each scene.

"Audiences are pretty bright and seemed to cotton on quite happily both times I directed it. I wrote a programme note on the use of time in plays, but made no direct reference to the one being staged, apart from the usual: Scene: Calvinu's restaurant; Time: Past, present and future." Calvinu's, which becomes the Sala Commemorativa in the LADS production, is where Gerry (John Sillitoe) is hosting a small family dinner with his sons Glyn (Tim Johnston Jones) and Adam (Mark Shadforth) to celebrate the birthday of his wife, Laura (Suzanne Sillitoe).

Glyn is with his long-suffering wife Stephanie (Deborah Frodsham), and Adam has brought along his new girlfriend Maureen (Samatha Reddy).

On the face of it, it's a pleasant domestic gathering, but gradually family skeletons begin to intrude on the occasion.

Time Of My Life is at Longsdon Memorial Hall from March 24 to 27 at 7.30pm. Tel 01538 373212.