Profiles

On a hot May Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people - many of them well known faces - packed into Northampton's Royal Theatre to wish Sir Alan Ayckbourn a happy 70th birthday.

The event was organised by the Royal & Derngate as part of their Ayckbourn Festival.

"We wanted to celebrate the work of probably our greatest living playwright," said Laurie Sansom, the Royal & Derngate's artistic director.

The Ayckbourn Festival runs from May to August 2009 and attempts to show the diversity of his writing. Laurie Sansom added "This great man has meant so much to so many people in the British theatre over the last 50 years."

'Genius'

At the gala show at the Royal and Derngate, stars of stage and screen gathered to pay tribute to Sir Alan Ayckbourn and to watch experts from some of his 75-strong canon. Amongst them was the actor Richard Briers: "He became this extraordinary writer. I don't know how he does it. I am sure that he is a genius."

Richard Briers and Robert Powell.

Richard Briers described Ayckbourn as a 'great psychologist': "He quite frightens me because he has such an incredible mind. I think he has two brains to my one," he joked.

Another actor, who worked with Sir Alan in the 1960s, is Robert Powell who described him as a "great, great writer".

"As a person he is very funny, very shy… and a very private man," said Robert Powell.

"It takes a while for him to relax with you but once he trusts you… he's a great friend."

Ideas 'bounce back'

Sir Alan walks with a stick following a stroke three years ago. He struggled to get onto the stage during the gala performance at the Royal Theatre but his frailty does not mean the end of his writing career.

The 70th birthday cake

"My head was emptied" by the stroke, he said. "I resigned myself to believing I would probably be directing for the rest of my life, but suddenly the plays are beginning to come back….the ideas are now bouncing about."

As part of the Ayckbourn Festival in Northampton, Sir Alan will be directing one of his favourite plays, Man of the Moment. "I always wanted to write the stage direction 'enter swimming', which that play actually has in its text."

At his 70th birthday bash in Northampton, Sir Alan was urged to continue writing plays until his 80th or 90th birthday. It seems as though he has every intention of doing so.

Ayckbourn Festival details

Friday 22 May – Saturday 13 June
JUST BETWEEN OURSELVES, directed by Mark Rosenblatt

Monday 22 June – Saturday 11 July
PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES, directed by Laurie Sansom

Monday 27 July – Saturday 15 August
MAN OF THE MOMENT, directed by Alan Ayckbourn

Tuesday 7 – Saturday 11 July
THE REVENGERS' COMEDIES Parts 1 & 2 performed by the Community Actors Group.

Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 July
ORVIN - CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS, performed by Royal & Derngate Youth Theatre

Weekdays from Tuesday 28 July – Friday 14 August 6.30pm-7.15pm
THE AYCKBOURNATHON READATHON: Excerpts of all 72 Ayckbourn plays read by local drama groups.

Saturdays from 18 July – 15 August 5pm
PLAY READINGS

Saturday 30 May 5pm
PLATFORM: The Guardian’s Michael Billington chairs a discussion.

Saturday 27 June 5pm
PLATFORM: Sir Alan talks about his career in the theatre.