| |
To put it politely, Christmas V Mastermind
could be considered the black sheep of the Ayckbourn play canon. It has had
just one production, has ever been published and was self-dubbed Alan’s “most
disastrous play”.
In 1962, Studio Theatre Ltd moved from Scarborough to a permanent home at
the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent. Alan moved with the company as an
Associate Director under Artistic Director Peter Cheeseman and would stay
with the company until 1964. The first season saw Alan successfully revive his play
Standing Room Only and write his second Christmas show for children.
Christmas V Mastermind – not Xmas V Mastermind as some
publications insist on naming it – was the result. The play, which Ayckbourn
admits was far from his finest moment, was hampered by a lack of
publicity, little understanding of how to attract large numbers of children
or families and - most damaging – was not advertised until well after other
theatres had announced their Christmas productions. It was performed during
a freakish cold spell in a theatre with no heating. Audiences were sparse
and not appreciative; one woman is reported to have threatened to never
visit the theatre again after her experience.
Notably, it was the first of Alan’s plays to feature Heather Stoney who
would appear in far more successful premieres of Alan’s plays and would
eventually marry the playwright. It also marked the final performance of
Alan Ayckbourn as an actor in one of his own works.
It was a true low-point in the aspiring writer’s career. Arguably after the
success of The Square Cat, Alan’s subsequent plays – Love After
All, Dad’s Tale, Standing Room Only and this play – all
failed to live up to the promise of the first play. Such was his lack of
confidence to successfully write for a young audience after this experience,
he would not write a full-length children’s play again until 1988 with Mr
A’s Amazing Maze Plays.
Christmas V Mastermind has never been
published and is unavailable to produce. A reading copy is held at The Bob
Watson Archive at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.
Copyright: Simon Murgatroyd 2009 |
|
