Simon Murgatroyd

Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist & Professional Writer

News & Events

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Talks:
A Round 50 - Theatre in the Round at Westwood I'm celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, the second home of the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round company between 1976 and 1995. It's taking place at Woodend Gallery and Studios at Saturday 20 June at 1pm. Tickets at £5 are available here.

Events:
The Library at 70 Exhibition My exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round in the UK is returning to Scarborough Library between 1 May and 27 June 2026. Expanded and revised for 2026, further details can be found here.

Publication: A Theatrical Revolution An open edition of my book A Theatrical Celebration is now available following the sold-out limited edition release in 2025. The book celebrates the 70th anniversary of Stephen Joseph founding the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round in Scarborough in 1955. More details here.

Archives: The Library Theatre / Stephen Joseph Collection I'm currently working with Scarborough Library on their significant archival holding of The Library Theatre / Stephen Joseph Theatre Collection. This is the largest single resource in the world regarding the founding of the UK's first professional theatre-in-the-round company at Scarborough Library in 1955. I'm curating, cataloguing and re-housing the entire collection as part of an ongoing project. More details here.

Publication:
Woman in Mind My article 'Celebrations' was published in the programme for the recent acclaimed revival of Woman in Mind at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, starring Sheridan Smith.

Event:
My talk celebrating the 60th anniversary of Alan Ayckbourn's classic play Relatively Speaking given at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, during September 2025 will soon be available to stream. More details soon.

Publication: Earth Angel My article 'Disinformation Technology' was published in the programme for the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's 91st play, Earth Angel, in 2025.

Website:
A Round Town The A Round Town website, which I launched in 2023, has had more content added and revisions to make navigating it easier. The website explores the history of theatre in there round in Scarborough from 1955 to 2009. It explores the contribution to Scarborough's cultural heritage and history made by theatre in the round, Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Joseph. Find out more at www.a-round-town.com.

Event:
The Ayckbourn Collection I'm extremely excited to announce The Ayckbourn Collection at Scarborough Museums and Galleries. I facilitated and curated a permanent donation of significant items to Scarborough Museums & Galleries in 2023 relating to Alan Ayckbourn, his mentor Stephen Joseph and theatre in the round to celebrate their contribution to the cultural history and heritage of the playwright's adopted home town.

Publication: Unseen Ayckbourn is out now, updated and with new entries - including the playwright's prodigious pandemic writing. The book looks at withdrawn, lost and unwritten plays as well as concepts, alternate version and titles as well as other ephemera from the playwright's career. It's priced at £15 and details can be found here.

Website: The Woman in Black The A Round Town website now has a section highlighting a key play which originated at the SJT. It looks at the original production of Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's novella The Woman In Black, which premiered in Scarborough in 1987 before becoming an international theatre phenomenon.

Talks & Events

Talk: A Round 50 - Theatre in the Round at Westwood
Woodend Gallery and Studios
Saturday 20 June at 1pm
Tickets £5, book
here

Exhibition: The Library Theatre at 70
Scarborough Library
1 May - 27 June
Free Entry, details
here

Book: A Theatrical Revolution
£10 including P&P
Details
here

Book: Unseen Ayckbourn
£15 including P&P
Details
here

Streaming: Talks & Videos
Several of my talks can be found on the Ayckbourn YouTube Channel
Details
here

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