Absent Friends: A Timeline
The Timeline offers a chronological view of significant events in the history of the play Absent Friends; it only lists major productions and does not include the vast majority of the many professional and amateur productions of the play.17 June 1974
World premiere of Absent Friends at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, directed by Alan Ayckbourn.
28 September 1974
Absent Friends closes at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, having had its run extended by a week due to its popularity.
30 June 1975
Absent Friends, directed by Eric Thompson, opens at the Brighton Theatre Royal for two weeks prior to a week at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, before transferring to the West End.
23 July 1975
London premiere of Absent Friends at the Garrick Theatre, London, directed by Eric Thompson.
1975
Samuel French publishes the acting edition of Absent Friends.
2 April 1976
North American premiere of Absent Friends at the Long Wharf Theater, New Haven, directed by Eric Thompson.
24 April 1976
Absent Friends closes at the Garrick Theatre, London.
May 1977
First UK provincial tour of Absent Friends is launched.
1977
Radio adaptation of Absent Friends premiered on BBC World Service, directed by Dickon Reed. Produced without the permission of Alan Ayckbourn and running less than an hour, this is later withdrawn from future broadcast.
1977
Chatto & Windus publish Absent Friends in the mass market hardback edition Three Plays.
11 July 1977
North American revival of Absent Friends, directed by Eric Thompson, at the Eisenhower Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington. It closes on 13 August 1977 and an intended transfer to New York never takes place.
16 March 1982
Premiere of Absent Friends at the Alley Theatre, Houston, directed by Alan Ayckbourn and featuring the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round company; Absent Friends was specifically produced for the venue during a two-month residency alongside the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round's production of Way Upstream.
29 September 1985
Television adaptation of Absent Friends premiered in the UK on BBC2, directed by Michael Simpson.
29 January 1991
New York premiere of Absent Friends by the Manhattan Theatre Club at the City Centre Stage, directed by Lynne Meadow.
15 March 1991
Absent Friends Closes at the City Centre Stage, New York.
1991
Longman publishes a student edition of Absent Friends.
9 October 1997
Revival of Absent Friends at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, directed by Alan Ayckbourn.
1999
Pearson Education Limited publishes York Notes: Absent Friends for students studying the play.
9 February 2012
West End revival of Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, directed by Jemermy Herrin.
14 April 2012
West End revival of Absent Friends closes at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London.
21 September 2012
The BBC television adaptation of Absent Friends is screened in a cinema for the first time as part of the Ayckbourn Film Festival at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.
Article by Simon Murgatroyd. Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without permission of the copyright holder.