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Henceforward

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  4w, 3m

Alan Ayckbourn

"This brilliant play offers an ultimately bleak vision of men, machines and society. But the exhilarating Ayckbournian paradox is that the darker it gets the funnier it becomes." - The Guardian

Henceforward

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m
  • Suggested Use
    • UIL Approved
Accolades
Accolades

  • 1989 Evening Standard Best Comedy Award

    1988 Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy

Details

Summary
England's comic master is in a black comic mode in this West End hit about our fascination with technology. It is sometime quite soon in a steel shuttered, slovenly flat in a no go area of North London where punks rule deserted streets. Here, a lonely composer sits surrounded by high tech equipment. His only company is a robot nanny, and she's on the blink. He desperately wants to reclaim his teenage daughter and enlists an out of work actress to implement a cunning plan he's evolved to impress his estranged wife and a wired for sound child welfare officer. When things don't work out, Jerome has to improvise... It's amazing what can be done with new micro chips and a screwdriver!

Media

"This brilliant play offers an ultimately bleak vision of men, machines and society. But the exhilarating Ayckbournian paradox is that the darker it gets the funnier it becomes." - The Guardian

"A superbly constructed comedy." - Daily Telegraph

"Nobody can be as funny as Alan Ayckbourn, or as frightening." - Financial Times

Videos

  • Alan Ayckbourn on Growing As a Dramatist youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on Growing As a Dramatist

  • Alan Ayckbourn on Comparisons youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on Comparisons

  • Alan Ayckbourn on How to Approach His Plays youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on How to Approach His Plays

  • Alan Ayckbourn on Getting Started youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on Getting Started

  • Alan Ayckbourn on the Difference Between Then and Now youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on the Difference Between Then and Now

  • Alan Ayckbourn on Ideas youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on Ideas

  • Alan Ayckbourn on Writing a Well Made Play youtube thumbnail

    Alan Ayckbourn on Writing a Well Made Play

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Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
    This title may have restrictions in place for London based productions. Please submit a licence request to confirm specific availability.

Scripts

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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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