GALLERY: Gala performance kicks off a summer of Ayckbourn classics
Stars turn out for Ayckbourn marathon in Northampton
Celebrations of legendary English playwright Alan Ayckbourn's 70th Birthday and a festival showcase of his work kicked off with a gala performance featuring some famous faces.
No stranger to treading the boards Richard Briers and Roberts Powell joined fellow actors on stage at Northampton's Royal & Derngate on Sunday, May 24, to rifle through extracts from some of Sir Alan most popular productions.
With scenes from House and Garden, Sugar Daddies, FlatSpin, RolePlay, GamePlan and many more the gala performance marks the beginning of a summer long festival of Ayckbourn classics.
First up is his dark comedy from 1976 Just Between Ourselves, which comes to the Royal & Derngate stage this week.
Told over four birthdays this black comedy reveals a series of hairline cracks in two marriages.
Dennis is trying to sell his wife Vera's car, the engine's not been turned over in a while and the door is stuck and if it's not used soon, it might break down altogether.
Reluctant buyer Neil and his even more reluctant wife Pam are proving tricky to convince. As Vera shuttles cups of tea to the garage, in a bid to avoid the relentless finger-pointing of Dennis's mother, the stresses and strains grow harder to hide.
The first in a trio of Ayckbourn classics at Northampton's Royal and Derngate - Private Fears In Public Places showing at the end of this month and Man Of The Moment on stage in July and August - Just Between Ourselves runs until Saturday June 13.
Tickets cost between 11 and 27. For more information call 01604 624811 or visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk
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Weather for Biggleswade
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
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