Absent Friends: Frequently Asked Questions

Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist Simon Murgatroyd's answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends. If you have a question about this or any other of Alan Ayckbourn's plays, you can contact the website via the Contact Us page.

What does it mean that Absent Friends is set in 'real time'?
A play set in 'real time' means the same amount of time elapses for the characters in the play as does for the audience. So a two hour long play presents 120 uninterrupted minutes of the characters' lives. Essentially, if a two hour play is set at 2pm one afternoon, it will finish at 4pm that afternoon. There are no jumps in time or location, we spend two hours watching two hours of these character's lives at the tea party; the same amount of time elapses for both the audience and the characters in the play.

Is there anything I should be aware if staging the play?
The playwright considers this a period piece which is very specific to the time it was written during the mid 1970s. As a result, he feels the play should never be produced outside of this period and it must be made clear the play is set during the 1970s within programmes and promotional material. Alan Ayckbourn feels all his plays reflect the social period they were set in and rarely make any sense if moved from that period, hence the necessity of setting Absent Friends definably during the mid 1970s.
It is particularly worth noting with regard to the female characters - who, as Alan notes, are the centre of the play - none of them are employed. Updated, this seems out of place but within the context of the time and its social setting, it's entirely natural. This is a period on the cusp of change - Evelyn is of the generation who will be part of that change and is in direct contrast to the traditional housewife situation of Marge and Diana, the older generation - but to update the play begs too many questions that would distract from the play itself.
Possibly the most important advice Alan Ayckbourn has ever given with regarding to directing and performing the play is, it must be played truthfully and never for laughs. The moment any actor chooses to 'wave from the window' - as the playwright puts it - and no longer plays the truth of the character, is the moment the play not only ceases to be funny, but actually fails to work as a play. The comedy - and sadness - comes from the juxtaposition of characters, seriously and truthfully played.

Where can I obtain the television adaptation of Absent Friends?
Unfortunately, the television adaptation of Absent Friends is not available to buy. The adaptation has never been released commercially and the playwright is aware of no intention by any media company to release Absent Friends in the foreseeable future.

Where can I obtain the BBC Radio adaptation of Absent Friends?
The BBC Radio adaptation of Absent Friends has never been made available commercially nor will it ever be made available commercially. This is because it was not approved by Alan Ayckbourn (who may not actually have been aware of it until the year after it was first broadcast). Unhappy with the drastic - and unapproved - cuts to the play, he requested the play be withdrawn and not broadcast again. It has subsequently been broadcast but the BBC has now officially been requested to neither broadcast nor further exploit the adaptation in the future.

All research for this page by Simon Murgatroyd.

The Absent Friends section of this website is both supported by & dedicated to John Cotgrave.