Joking Apart (play)

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Joking Apart
Written byAlan Ayckbourn
CharactersRichard
Anthea
Hugh
Louise
Sven
Olive
Brian
Melody / Mandy / Mo / Debbie
Date premiered11 January 1978
Place premieredStephen Joseph Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SettingFour parties over 12 years
Alan Ayckbourn chronology
Ten Times Table
(1977)
Sisterly Feelings
(1979)

Joking Apart is a 1978 play by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn.

Overview[edit]

Written in response to comments that Ayckbourn only ever wrote about unhappy couples, the play follows Richard and Anthea, a perfect and happily married couple who inadvertently worsen the lives of the couples they have befriended over the course of 12 years: Hugh and Louise, Sven and Olive, and Brian and his seemingly never-ending stream of unsteady girlfriends (Melody, Mandy, Mo, and Debbie). In most productions, Brian's girlfriends are portrayed by the same actress, with characters commenting on their similar physical appearances.

External links[edit]