Alan Ayckbourn has been a playwright for 58 years, and to date has written 80 plays, including Relatively Speaking, How the Other Half Loves, Absurd Person Singular and The Norman Conquests. In 1997 he was knighted for services to theatre, and he has won numerous awards. With Peter Kemp, Chief Fiction Reviewer for The Sunday Times, he explores the way his work combines comedy with underlying seriousness, using humour to treat themes such as emotional inhibition, isolation, failures of communication and tension within families. We also hear about influences on his writing, his working routines and his ongoing fascination with technical experimentation.

We are grateful to Richard and Jenny Davenport-Hines for sponsoring this event in memory of their son Cosmo.

Eighty Plays On: Alan Ayckbourn in Conversation

Founded in 1820, the RSL acts as a voice for the value of literature, honouring and supporting emerging and established writers whilst creating a bridge between authors and audiences of all backgrounds and experiences to engage as many people as possible with the wealth of literature in the UK.

Eighty Plays On: Alan Ayckbourn in Conversation

Royal Society Literature