Things We Do for Love [Paperback]

Alan Ayckbourn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 1998

A remarkable tragic comedy, Alan Ayckbourn's 52nd full-length play was first presented at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1997 and received its West End premiere in Spring 1998.

Things We Do For Love won the 1997 Lloyds Private Banking Playwright of the Year Award.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A cruel and hilarious masterpiece of tragic comedy and comic tragedy...On all three levels of the house, people have fantasies and deep-seated misconceptions about each other and themselves, and Ayckbourn pieces through their carapace with the precision of a brain surgeon, releasing hideous pain and grateful, aching, embarrassed laughter in equal proportions. He is the only playwright I know who can combine ribald humour with the cruelty of Seneca."--Sunday Times

About the Author

Born in London in 1939, Alan Ayckbourn spent most of his childhood in Sussex and was educated at Haileybury. Leaving there one Friday at the age of seventeen, he went into the theatre the following Monday and has been working in it ever since as, variously, a stage manager, sound technician, scene painter, prop-maker, actor, writer and director. These last two talents he developed thanks to his mentor, Stephen Joseph, whom he first met in 1958 upon joining his newly formed Studio Theatre Company in Scarborough. A BBC Radio Drama Producer from 1965 to 1970, upon the death of Stephen Joseph, he returned to Scarborough to become the company's Artistic Director. He holds the post to this day, though the theatre is now named after its founder. He is the author of over fifty plays, most of which received their first performance at this Yorkshire theatre, were he spends the greater part of the year directing other people's work. More than half of his plays have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or at the Royal Shakespeare Company. They have been translated into over thirty languages, are seen on stage and television throughout the world, and have received many national and international awards. Alan Ayckbourn was appointed a CBE in 1987 and in 1997 became to first playwright knighted since Terence Rattigan. He lives in London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (April 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571194451
• ISBN-13: 978-0571194452
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,417,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Things we do for Laugh, January 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Things We Do for Love (Paperback)

Though not quite a match for Shakespeare, Aykborn's "things" is a funny play, which brings us the moral dilema of love and faith, of love and friendship. The charachters are a bit pale, and lack a real personality, but- Hey, we can't have it all!!!