Simon Murgatroyd

Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist & Professional Writer

Unseen Ayckbourn

Unseen Ayckbourn is a revised and updated edition of the book by Alan Ayckbourn's archivist Simon Murgatroyd, looking at the playwright's unpublished, withdrawn and unwritten plays.

Unseen Ayckbourn examines Alan Ayckbourn's playwriting career by exploring the plays which have rarely been seen, withdrawn, lost or - occasionally - altered. It draws from unused or abandoned concepts and ideas as well as looking at variations of existing plays, alternative titles as well as other ephemera from the playwright's six decades of writing. When first published, it was named as one of The Stage newspaper's best theatre books of 2013.

The updated book (up to and including 2023 plays) includes extracts from many of the works included as well as extensive quotes by the playwright himself. It includes more than 30 new entries as well as revisions and updates to other entries.

It is of particular interest in charting Alan Ayckbourn's work during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, when the playwright wrote eight news full-length plays, the majority of which have not - nor are likely to - produced.

The book contains a biography of the playwright as well as a complete list of Alan Ayckbourn's plays and writing as of 2023. It is published by Lulu in paperback with 224 pages in an A5 format.

How To Order The Book

Unseen Ayckbourn is available online from most major retailers but can be found at Amazon (UK) and Barnes & Noble (USA).

Copies singed by the author are available directly from this website for £15 (including P&P) by clicking
here (UK customers only).

A PDF ebook is also available directly from this website for £10 by clicking
here.

If you have any enquiries about Unseen Ayckbourn or would like to use alternative payment methods, please contact Simon Murgatroyd via
admin@alanayckbourn.net.

Unseen Ayckbourn: Anniversary Edition

A special limited edition of Unseen Ayckbourn was published during 2019 to mark the 80th birthday of Alan Ayckbourn and the 60th anniversary of his playwriting debut. If you bought a copy of Unseen Ayckbourn: Anniversary Edition and associated your name with the edition number, you can find details here.

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