Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website

The Archive

A collection of archive material, posters, rehearsal and production images pertaining to Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends. The Archive page is presented in association with the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York where the Ayckbourn Archive is held. Click on an image to expand.

Absent Friends is one of the earliest Ayckbourn plays to have the playwright's early notes survive in archive. They offer a fascinating insight into the origins of the play and its very different initial concept.

Copyright: Haydonning Ltd
Holding: Borthwick Institute for Archives

Do not reproduce images without permission of the copyright holder.

Absent Friends is one of the earliest Ayckbourn plays to have the playwright's early notes survive in archive. This page is notable for a list of alternative titles for the play as well as a scene breakdown which bears no resemblance to the finished play.

Copyright: Haydonning Ltd
Holding: Borthwick Institute for Archives

Do not reproduce images without permission of the copyright holder.

Absent Friends is one of the earliest Ayckbourn plays to have the playwright's early notes survive in archive. This page again features early concepts for the play - very different to what the playwright eventually wrote - as well as alternative character names.

Copyright: Haydonning Ltd
Holding: Borthwick Institute For Archives

Do not reproduce images without permission of the copyright holder.

During 1982, Alan Ayckbourn toured the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round company to the Alley Theatre, Houston, with Absent Friends. This show report highlights an unusual problem during performance - cockroaches in the sandwiches…

Copyright: Haydonning Ltd
Holding: Borthwick Institute for Archives

Do not reproduce images without permission of the copyright holder.

An interesting quirk of Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, is that poster images were not used until the early 1970s. As a result, Absent Friends is only the second Ayckbourn world premiere to have a poster (or, in this case, an illustrated programme cover).

Copyright: Scarborough Theatre Trust
Holding: Borthwick Institute For Archives

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The poster for the West End premiere of Absent Friends in 1975. Despite an impressive cast and director, the production was not a success and Alan believed its transfer from an intimate theatre-in-the-round to a vast proscenium arch space did the play no favours.

Copyright: Michael Codron Productions
Holding: Borthwick Institute For Archives

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The poster for Alan Ayckbourn's 1997 revival of Absent Friends, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. This marked the third and final time he directed the play.

Copyright: Scarborough Theatre Trust
Holding: Ayckbourn Digital Archive

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The poster for the acclaimed 2021 revival of Absent Friends, directed by Jeremy Herrin. Alan's plays are frequently noted for the difficulty in creating appealing poster images and, as a result, this clever design has subsequently been frequently copied.

Copyright: Sonia Friedman Productions
Holding: Borthwick Institute for Archives

Do not reproduce images without permission of the copyright holder.

The Archive and Resource pages are presented in association with the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, where the Ayckbourn Archive is held.

All images on this page are copyright of the respective and labelled individual / organisation and should not be reproduced without permission.