Things That Go Bump (plays)

Last updated

Things that go Bump (trilogy)
Thing That Go Bump.jpg
Promotional image used in newspaper adverts
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
CharactersJoe Lukin / David

Ken Chase / Gordon

Andy Rollinson / Martin

Annabel Chester / Beth

Miriam Chester / Connie

Alice Moody / Ella
Date premiered27 May 2008 ( Haunting Julia ), 10 June 2008 ( Snake in the Grass ), 22 July 2008 ( Life and Beth )
Place premiered Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
Original languageEnglish
SubjectVarious, all involving ghosts
GenreVarious
SettingVarious
Official site

Things That Go Bump is a season of plays (often regarded as a trilogy) performed in 2008 by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn.

Contents

Unlike Ayckbourn's previous trilogies, where all three plays were written for the same season, the three plays in this set were written over a period of fourteen years. The first play, Haunting Julia , was written in 1994, and Snake in the Grass was written in 2002 as a companion piece. Finally, in 2008, a third play, Life and Beth , was written combining the six actors in the other two plays, and all three plays were performed as a trilogy at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. The plays shared the themes of ghosts, but the stories and characters themselves were unconnected.

Background

Further details in background sections on individual Haunting Julia, Snake in the Grass and Life and Beth pages.

The history of the trilogy began in 1994, when the Stephen Joseph Theatre was still at its old Westwood site. Haunting Julia was written following inspiration from Stephen Mallatratt's stage adaptation of Susan Hill's The Woman in Black , and premièred at the theatre seven years earlier. His interest came from what he considered Mallatratt's ability to make audiences jump through good acting and tension rather than special effects. [1] However, Haunting Julia ended up being dominated by the three living men and their relationship to Julia [2] – a brilliant musician who took her life aged nineteen – rather than the appearances of any ghosts.

After a première with mixed success in 1994 and a more successful revival in 1999, now at the theatre's current site, Ayckbourn followed this play up in 2002 with Snake in the Grass . This was partly due to a wish to write a female equivalent of Julia, partly due to the continuing success of The Woman in Black, and partly due to the success that Yasmina Reza's play 'Art' was enjoying with a small cast. [3] Mirroring the original play, Snake featured three women, and the "ghost" was the father of two of them. However, in keeping with Ayckbourn's tendency to move more contemporary themes, the play was arguably a much darker one, covering themes of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

For some time afterwards, Ayckbourn considered writing a third ghost play that would combine the cast of the previous two plays, and eventually decided to do so after Susie Blake (Miriam in the original Snake in the Grass) asked about reprising her role. [4] [5] It was announced in December 2007 that the play would be performed as part of next summer's season, and two months later it was added that Ayckbourn's other two "ghost" plays would also be performed as a trilogy, [6] now known as Things That Go Bump. Although Things That Go Bump was a name created by the Stephen Joseph Theatre for its 2008 season rather than one created by Alan Ayckbourn,[ citation needed ] the three plays have since been regarded as a trilogy elsewhere. [7]

Alan Ayckbourn himself did not express any opinions on the existence of ghosts, but he say he once felt the presence of his father's ghost a few years after his death. [3] [8] Whether this affected the plays is unclear.

Characters

The first two plays each have three characters: all-male in the first, and all-female in the second.. In the 2008 season, the twelve characters were cast as follows: [9] [10] [11]

Actor in 2008 SeasonActor required Haunting Julia Snake in the Grass Life and Beth
Ian Hogg Male, olderJoe Lukin(Father)David
Adrian McLoughlinMale, olderKen Chase–Gordon
Richard StaceyMale, youngerAndy Rollinson–Martin
Liza Goddard Female, older–Annabel ChesterBeth
Susie Blake Female, older–Miriam ChesterConnie
Ruth GibsonFemale, younger(Julia)Alice MoodyElla

Note: Ruth Gibson and Ian Hogg can be loosely attributed to Julia and the Chesters' father respectively, as their pictures were used to represent the two ghosts on the programmes and publicity for Haunting Julia and Snake in the Grass. However, they played no part in the actual productions, and in the case of Haunting Julia, the voice of the actress in the original 1994 production, Cathy Sara, was re-used.

Setting

All three plays are single-set plays, but unlike earlier trilogies ( The Norman Conquests and Damsels in Distress ), there was no connection between either the set or the location of the play. The time-frame of the plays vary, with Haunting Julia taking place in a single interval-free scene over two hours, Life and Beth running from evening to morning over Christmas Eve, and Snake in the Grass , the longest, running from one afternoon to very late the following day.

Haunting Julia went through the most changes with the setting over its première and revivals, with an interval added and removed again; and written for the proscenium but staged in the round, then re-staged in the proscenium and then the round again. The trilogy in its final form was produced entirely in the round, but all three of the plays have been (individually) performed for the end-stage at various stages in their respective tours.

The Plays

Haunting Julia

The first play, originally written in 1994, Haunting Julia, is set in the "Julia Lukin Music Centre" in an exhibit reproducing the room of Julia, a gifted musician who unexpectedly took her life aged nineteen. Twelve years after the event, Julia's father, Joe, brings along Julia's old boyfriend (or, more accurately, unrequited admirer). With Joe never accepting Julia's death as suicide and determined to believe she lives on as a ghost, and Andy (now married with children) wanting to forget it and move on, Joe brings along Ken Chase, a man who claims to be a psychic, in a bid to contact her. Ken is later discovered to be the former janitor in Julia's house, and between the three of them, the truth gradually emerges as to why Julia really took her life. And as they talk about it, more and more unexplained events occur which seem to suggest Julia is still around.

Snake in the Grass

Snake in the Grass, written in 2002 as a companion piece to Haunting Julia, reversed the sexes, changing the three male characters for three female characters and the ghost of a young woman for that of an old (and much less pleasant) man. It is also portrays "ghosts" far more in the metaphorical context of past events rather than supernatural beings. In the play, Annabel Chester returns to her family home she fled when fifteen to receive the inheritance from her father. She is blackmailed by her father's old nurse, Alice Moody, who claims to have evidence that Annabel's house trapped sister, Miriam, overdosed his medicine. Miriam's method of dealing with this, however, is to drug Alice and push her down the garden well. After the sisters destroy the evidence, the terrible truths about their pasts emerge, as does the true extent of a sinister plot.

Life and Beth

The final play that combined the two casts, Life and Beth, was written in 2008. Much more like a comedy than the other two plays, it is also the only play of the three where the ghost is played by a character on stage (although it is never quite clear whether this was a real ghost or just a figment of Beth's imagination). It is set over the first Christmas Eve that Beth spends after her husband's death, where her self-pitying alcohol sister-in-law, Connie, her son Martin, and lovesick vicar David all doing their utmost to help her through it. In fact, however, Beth doesn't miss her husband, Gordon, that much, as he was a pedantic and tedious man who micromanaged her life, while Martin has inherited all of the wrong attributes of Gordon, as evidenced by his silent morose girlfriend Ella. It is only when a prayer of David's inadvertently brings the ghost of Gordon back to Earth that things get complicated.

Productions

In the Things That Go Bump season, Haunting Julia premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre on 27 May 2008, [9] followed by Snake in the Grass on 22 July 2008 [10] and Life and Beth on 22 July 2008. [11] The production team was:

The three plays then toured to the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme in September. [12] In 2009, Life and Beth was re-directed for the end-stage and toured alone to six other theatres. [13]

Critical Reviews

Further details in review sections on individual Haunting Julia, Snake in the Grass and Life and Beth pages.

The original reviews of Haunting Julia were divided, partly along the lines of those who welcomed Ayckbourn's progression into more dramatic plays and those who preferred his older formula. One thing that may not have helped was that it was a play written for the proscenium that was staged in the round, and consequently a crucial door was invisible to some of the audience. In the 1999 revival, where and end-stage production was possible, and in 2008, which was staged in the round again but the door was changed into a trapdoor, the reviews were better.

Snake in the Grass's 2002 reviews were generally positive, with, this time, Ayckbourn's move into more contemporary themes being welcomed by the reviewers.

In the Things That Go Bump trilogy in 2008, the most attention in the reviews went to Life and Beth . This was also received positively, although there was disappointment from some that the tension from the earlier two plays was not repeated here.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Ayckbourn</span> English playwright (born 1939)

Sir Alan Ayckbourn is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2024, 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit Relatively Speaking opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1967.

The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. Table Manners is set in the dining room, Living Together in the living room, and Round and Round the Garden in the garden.

<i>Woman in Mind</i> 32nd play by Alan Ayckbourn

Woman in Mind (December Bee) is the 32nd play by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, in 1985. Despite pedestrian reviews by many critics, strong audience reaction resulted in a transfer to London's West End. The play received its London opening at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1986 where it received predominantly excellent reviews.

<i>House</i> & <i>Garden</i> (plays) Two plays written by Alan Ayckbourn to be performed simultaneously

House and Garden are a diptych of plays written by the English playwright Alan Ayckbourn, first performed in 1999. They are designed to be staged simultaneously, with the same cast in adjacent auditoria, and were published together as House & Garden. House takes place in the drawing room, and Garden in the grounds, of a large country house. Each play is self-contained, and they may be attended in either order. As is typical of his work, Ayckbourn portrays the mostly bittersweet relationships between more or less unhappy, upper-middle-class people. The title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the magazine House & Garden, in which country houses and gardens are often portrayed as idyllic, peaceful places.

<i>RolePlay</i> (play) 2001 play by Alan Ayckbourn

RolePlay is a 2001 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the third in a trilogy of plays called Damsels in Distress. It is about an engaged couple, Julie-Ann Jobson and Justin Lazenby whose engagement party is interrupted by unexpected intrusions.

<i>Private Fears in Public Places</i> 2004 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Private Fears in Public Places is a 2004 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The bleakest play written by Ayckbourn for many years, it intimately follows a few days in the lives of six characters, in four tightly-interwoven stories through 54 scenes.

<i>The Revengers Comedies</i> 1989 play by Alan Ayckbourn

The Revengers' Comedies is a play by Alan Ayckbourn. Its title references that of The Revenger's Tragedy. The play is an epic piece running more than five hours and was designed to be presented in two parts. It was inspired by the playwright's love of films and references many notable movies, particularly the Alfred Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train.

<i>Taking Steps</i> 1979 farce by Alan Ayckbourn

Taking Steps is a 1979 farce by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is set on three floors of an old and reputedly haunted house, with the stage arranged so that the stairs are flat and all three floors are on a single level.

Jacqueline King is a British stage and television actress known for her role in Alan Ayckbourn's theatre production of GamePlan and as recurring character Sylvia Noble in Doctor Who.

<i>GamePlan</i> (play) 2001 play by Alan Ayckbourn

GamePlan is a 2001 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the first in a trilogy of plays called Damsels in Distress The darkest of the three plays, it is about a teenage girl who tries to support herself and her mother through prostitution.

<i>FlatSpin</i> 2001 play by Alan Ayckbourn

FlatSpin is a 2001 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the second in a trilogy of plays called Damsels in Distress It is about an actress called Rosie Seymour who accepts a date with a mysterious Sam Berryman, who seems to have mistaken her for a Joanna Rupelford.

<i>Damsels in Distress</i> (plays) Trilogy of plays by Alan Ayckbourn

Damsels in Distress is a trilogy of plays written in 2001 by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The three plays, GamePlan, FlatSpin and RolePlay, were originally performed as a set by the Stephen Joseph Theatre Company (SJT). The plays were written to be performed by the same seven actors using the same set. Although the plays loosely shared some common themes, the three stories were independent of each other and unconnected.

<i>Drowning on Dry Land</i> (play) 2004 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Drowning on Dry Land is a 2004 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, his 66th to be produced. Exploring the culture of B-list celebrities, it is a comedy about the rise and fall of Charlie Conrad, a man apparently famous for being a failure.

<i>Improbable Fiction</i> 2005 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Improbable Fiction is a 2005 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is about a writers' circle, on the night the chairman, Arnold, seems to wander into the imaginations of the other writers.

<i>Sugar Daddies</i> (play) 2003 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Sugar Daddies is a 2003 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is about a student who forms a friendship with a rich man over three times her age, who has a sinister past, and maybe a sinister present too.

<i>Haunting Julia</i> 1994 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Haunting Julia is a 1994 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is about Julia Lukin, a nineteen-year-old brilliant musician who committed suicide twelve years earlier, who haunts the three men closest to her, through both the supernatural and in their memories. In 2008, it was presented as the first play of Things That Go Bump.

<i>Snake in the Grass</i> (play) 2002 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Snake in the Grass is a 2002 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The play is about a middle-aged older sister who returns to the family home where her younger sister still lives, shortly after their abusive father's death. It was written as a female companion piece to the 1994 ghost play Haunting Julia, and in 2008 these two plays, together with new play Life and Beth were folded into a trilogy named Things That Go Bump.

<i>Life and Beth</i> Play written by Alan Ayckbourn

Life and Beth is a 2008 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was written as a third part of a trilogy named Things That Go Bump, uniting the cast of the first two plays: Haunting Julia (1994) and Snake in the Grass (2002). It is about a recently bereaved widow, Beth, troubled by her family's misguided support and a late husband who won't leave her alone.

<i>My Wonderful Day</i>

My Wonderful Day is a 2009 play by Alan Ayckbourn. It is about a nine-year-old girl, Winnie, who has an essay to write about her day, and records the shenanigans of grown-ups around her.

<i>Life of Riley</i> (play) 2010 play by Alan Ayckbourn

Life of Riley is a 2010 play by Alan Ayckbourn. It was first performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

References

  1. ↑ Preface [ permanent dead link ] to Plays 3 by Alan Ayckbourn, Faber & Faber
  2. ↑ Programme notes [ permanent dead link ] from 1999 SJT tour.
  3. 1 2 Allen, Paul (2004) A Pocket Guide to Alan Ayckbourn Plays Faber & Faber ISBN   0-571-21492-4
  4. ↑ Interview from Life and Beth programme, held on Ayckbourn site Archived 13 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Life and Beth history on official Ayckbourn site". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Scarborough Evening News, 19 February 2008
  7. ↑ See, for example, Archived 19 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine , and .
  8. ↑ Haunting Julia history [ permanent dead link ] on official Ayckbourn site
  9. 1 2 Production details of Haunting Julia on official Ayckbourn site [ permanent dead link ]
  10. 1 2 Production details of Snake in the Grass on official Ayckbourn site Archived 21 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. 1 2 Production details of Life and Beth on official Ayckbourn site Archived 13 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Chester Chronicle, 29 Aug 2008
  13. ↑ Arts Archive performance listings for Life and Beth

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.