The English Theatre of Hamburg Established 1976 presents Relatively Speaking A Comedy by Alan Ayckbourn 1 Premiere on 21 November, 2013 Preview Performances at reduced prices on 18, 19 and 20 November Performances Tuesday to Saturday at 19.30 Hours Matinee Performances at 11.00 Hours on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning 26 November The English Theatre of Hamburg Lerchenfeld 14, 22081 Hamburg U-Bahn Mundsburg Telephone: 22 77 089 www.englishtheatre.de
The English Theatre of Hamburg Dear English Teachers and Friends, Established in 1976 The English Theatre will premiere RELATIVELY SPEAKING by Alan Ayckbourn on 21 November, 2013, with the usual preview performances at reduced prices on 18, 19 and 20 November. Bookings for this popular British comedy have already started. The text of the play may be obtained at theatre@samuelfrench-london.co.uk *************************************************************************** ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alan Ayckbourn is probably Britain's most prolific living playwright. Born in London in 1939, he has been writing and directing for the theatre for 54 years. He has written 77 plays, most of which have been seen all over the world. However, it was not until his seventh play, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, that Alan Ayckbourn had his first London success in 1967. This smash hit was soon followed by one sell-out production after another. Most of Ayckbourn's plays deal with the boredom, frustration, even horror of middle-class English life within the framework of a very funny bourgeois comedy. Some of the author's better known works are: HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES, TIME AND TIME AGAIN, ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR, THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, ABSENT FRIENDS, BEDROOM FARCE, SEASONS GREETINGS, A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL, A SMALL FAMILY BUSINESS, MAN OF THE MOMENT, COMMUNICATING DOORS and THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE. Many of the plays, including RELATIVELY SPEAKING, have been revived recently in London's West End. In addition to serving many years as Associate Director of Britain's National Theatre, Alan Ayckbourn was also, until 2009, the Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where most of his plays were first produced. He has received numerous distinguished awards throughout his long career and was knighted in 1997 for outstanding services to the theatre... 2 ABOUT THE PLAY Greg and Ginny have been together for hardly a month and the relationship is already in trouble. Greg is hurt and confused, not only by all the mysterious phone calls and gifts that Ginny is receiving daily, but also by her decision to take off without him to visit her parents in the country. In reality, Ginny is going to the home of her boss, Philip, to put an end to their affair and to stop the phone calls and the gifts he is constantly sending to her. Greg, having discovered an address written down by Ginny, follows her to the country, intending to ask Ginny's parents for her hand in marriage. Greg arrives before Ginny does, and finds Philip and his wife Sheila in their garden. Greg assumes, of course, he is meeting Ginny's parents. To complicate matters further, Philip mistakenly gets the idea that Greg wants to marry Sheila, and Sheila is led to believe that Ginny is nothing more than her husband's secretary. What follows is an hilarious series of even more misunderstandings, brilliantly brought to life in what is still considered to be Alan Ayckbourn's best crafted comedy. Underlying the humour, however, are issues about trust, honesty and commitment in relationships, themes that are as challenging and relevant today as they ever were. Two hours of continuous laughter (Guardian) A single-minded contribution to the theatre of pleasure... Brilliant. (The Times)
.. Summary of Alan Ayckbourn's RELATIVELY SPEAKING ACT.I, Scene 1. A Sunday morning in London, 1967. The scene is a bed-sitting-room occupied by Ginny, a young woman in her early twenties. Her new boyfriend, Greg, has spent the night. He is very much in love with Ginny, but he is also disturbed by all the mysterious phone calls, expensive gifts and flowers that she has been receiving. Then he discovers, under her bed, a man s pair of slippers. He suspects they might belong to the older man that Ginny says she was involved with before meeting him a month ago. In any case, he fears that there might be someone, besides him, in Ginny's love life. It is therefore urgent, Greg decides, to get Ginny to marry him as soon as possible. But Ginny claims that she is not ready to commit herself to marriage just yet. When she announces that she will be visiting her parents in the country that day, Greg is hurt because she will not let him go with her. Ginny explains that her parents are not expecting him and that she cannot bring a stranger home without an invitation. In reality, Ginny is going to the country home of her boss, Philip, to convince him that their affair is over and to stop the phone calls and gifts she is receiving from him daily. She is making the trip now because Philip told her that his wife goes to church on Sunday mornings. When Ginny's taxi does not arrive on time, she hurries to the station on foot so as not to miss the first train to the country. After she leaves, the taxi arrives. Instead of sending it away, Greg, who has discovered a country address written down by Ginny, decides to take the taxi himself to her parents' home and ask them for Ginny's hand in marriage. He impulsively grabs the man's slippers he found under the bed, puts them in his bag and heads for the taxi. ACT I, Scene 2 A garden terrace leading off from a large house in the country. Philip and Sheila, a middle-aged couple, sit at breakfast reading the Sunday papers. He is in a bad mood, presumably because Ginny has not responded to any of his phone calls or gifts. He complains about the taste of the marmalade his wife has bought. Her confusion over the use of the words link and rink also irritates him. And he is put off by her decision not to go to church this morning as she usually does. Sheila asks her husband about a tenday European business trip he is planning to take. She would like go along with him, but he discourages this, claiming that the trip will be too tiring for her and not much fun. Then he casually mentions that, with him out of the way for ten days, she will have time for the affair she is trying to keep secret from him. Sheila is frustrated by this remark, the likes of which she heard before when he jumped to the conclusion that a letter mistakenly delivered to her by the post office was from an admirer of hers. When she informs Philip that she plans to go to Kent soon to visit a cousin, he explodes, demanding that she tell him the truth about the lover she will be seeing there. Sheila insists that she does not know what he is talking about and tells him to work off whatever is bothering him by doing some digging in the garden. No, I'll do some hoeing, he replies belligerently. I don't feel in the least like digging this morning. He marches off into the garden, and Sheila begins clearing the breakfast things from the table. Greg arrives before Ginny does and rings the front door bell. Getting no response, he finds his way to the garden terrace at the back of the house. There he encounters Sheila, and assumes she is Ginny's mother. After introducing himself, he tells Sheila that he wants to talk to her husband about marrying Ginny. Sheila has no idea who Ginny or Greg are, but she tries to be polite and make sense of what the young man is saying without offending him. She enjoys talking to Greg so much that she invites him to stay for lunch. Philip enters from the garden looking for the hoe. His wife introduces him to Greg and then goes into the house to see about lunch. Greg nervously informs Philip that he would like to talk to him about me and her. Philip mistakenly thinks that Greg is referring to his wife Sheila, and that Greg is her mysterious lover. When Greg says he wants to marry her, Philip refuses, claiming that a man in his position could not afford that kind of negative publicity. He has nothing against them living together, Philip says, but marriage is out of the question. Greg thinks that Philip's attitude is 3
very strange for a father. He gathers that Philip disapproves of him because he does not earn enough money to support her in the manner to which she is accustomed. Feeling inadequate, Greg remarks that he is really doing Philip a favour because she has already had affairs with four or five other men, including one who was old enough to be her father. Philip, continuing to believe that Greg is speaking about his wife, is stunned. As he tries to deal with this shocking bit of information, Sheila returns cheerfully with some sherry for them. Philip is beside himself with jealousy and anger, and Sheila has no idea why. He berates her for misplacing the hoe and storms off into the garden to continue looking for it. Greg is confused by Philip's strange behaviour and attitude towards him. He sadly admits to Sheila that he knows very little about this sort of business. Assuming that her husband has turned down the young man's request for a job, Sheila tells Greg that she will put in a good word for him and asks the young man to go into the house while she talks to Philip in private about the matter. Before she can find her husband, however, Ginny arrives. Surprised that Philip's wife is not away at church, Ginny is not sure if she has come to the right address. ACT II, Scene 1 The.same. A-moment-later. After Ginny introduces herself, Sheila tries to put the young woman at ease. She says that he has told her all about Ginny and that she thinks they will make a lovely couple. Ginny, unaware that Greg is there, is shocked to hear this. She thinks that he is Philip. Ginny tells Sheila that she is Philip's secretary and has come to have a word with her boss about a business matter. Sheila calls out to Philip that he has a visitor, and then, after inviting Ginny to stay for lunch, goes into the house. Philip enters and assures Ginny that his wife knows nothing about their relationship. Ginny points out that he is mistaken because Sheila has just told her that they make a lovely couple. This does not surprise Philip in the least since he is under the impression that his wife is in the house right now with her young lover. Philip believes that this is a perfect opportunity for him and Ginny to carry on with their relationship, but Ginny insists that she wants to break up with him because she is now in love with another man. She urges Philip to accept the new situation and to make up with his wife before it is too late. Philip reluctantly agrees to consider Ginny's wishes. He goes off again into the garden to look for the hoe. Greg enters happily from the house in an apron. Ginny is shocked to see him there. He tells her that he is helping her mother prepare lunch. He also reports that her father does not think much of them getting married, but that her mother has promised to put in a good word for them. Ginny decides that the best thing to do is to confess everything. With tears in her eyes, she begins by telling Greg that the woman in the house is not really her mother. Greg jumps to the conclusion that Ginny is trying to admit to him that she was born illegitimate and that Sheila and Philip adopted her. While he is trying to persuade her that all of that is perfectly okay with him, Sheila enters from the house with some napkins and cutlery for the table. She asks Greg if he is going to finish making the pastry. He cheerfully takes Ginny by the hand and drags her into the house to help with the lunch. Philip returns to the terrace and demands to know what Sheila's immediate plans are. He means regarding her relationship with Greg, of course. Sheila, unaware of what her husband is referring to, replies that she plans to finish laying the table and then return to the kitchen to see about lunch. Philip believes his wife is trying to avoid the issue, so he tells her directly that Greg asked him if he could marry her. Concluding that her husband is either drunk or suffering from sunstroke, Sheila points out that Greg is already engaged and definitely does not want to marry her. Greg enters from the house with a bottle of wine, and Sheila returns to the kitchen. Convinced that his wife has spoken the truth, Philip realizes that he owes Greg an apology for his previous behaviour. He explains to Greg that he foolishly thought that the young man wanted to marry his wife. Believing that to be a very odd thing for Philip to think, Greg is nevertheless glad that the misunderstanding is cleared up. Philip then asks who, if not Sheila, Greg wanted to marry. Greg answers that he wants to marry Philip's daughter, of course. Since Philip does not have a daughter, he is at a loss as to how to reply to the young man. When he stupidly suggests that Greg might be 4
interested in an unmarried aunt of his, Greg angrily answers that it is only Philip's daughter that he is interested in! Just as Philip is about to reveal to Greg that he does not have a daughter, Ginny enters from the house with some glasses for the table. She senses the tension between the two men, and asks if anything is wrong. Greg, frustrated, answers that her father now wants him to marry his aunt! Philip is astounded that Greg has called him Ginny's father. Ginny quickly realizes that the only way to save the situation is to pretend that the two men have not yet been properly introduced. She says to Philip, Daddy, this is Gregory, the one I've told you so much about. Gregory, meet my father. Surprised at suddenly becoming a father, Philip smiles stiffly at Ginny and then shakes Greg's hand. ACT II, Scene 2 The same. Shortly after lunch. Philip is annoyed that Ginny has trapped him into playing her father, so he gets back at her by making her appear as unattractive to Greg as possible. As soon as Sheila has left to fetch the coffee, he tells the young man that Ginny was so fat as a child that they nicknamed her Jumbo. He also claims that she had flat feet, terrible skin problems and crooked teeth. Ginny is furious with Philip, but holds her tongue. Sheila, after returning with the coffee, innocently asks Ginny whether she was born in London or in the country. Ginny chokes on her coffee and runs into the house for a glass of water. Greg is startled that Ginny's mother would ask such a question, but assumes that she simply has a peculiar sense of humour. Philip, fearing that Greg and Sheila might soon figure out what is really going on, makes up a story about him and his wife having to visit their friends, the Coopers, that afternoon. He suggests to Greg that he and Ginny should catch the next train back to London. Greg agrees and assures him that he will take good care of Ginny and keep her away from the older man she was mixed up with. Both Greg and Sheila put all the blame on the older man for playing around with an innocent young girl. Philip explodes, pointing out that the girl herself must share some of the responsibility. He then excuses himself and rushes off into the house to get a glass of water. Greg and Sheila are again bewildered by Philip's outrageous behaviour. While trying to understand this latest outburst of his, Greg refers to Ginny as Sheila's daughter. Sheila quickly points out that Ginny is not her daughter. Greg assumes that Sheila is doing this because Ginny is illegitimate and adopted. The more Sheila denies that Ginny is her daughter, the angrier Greg becomes. He finally grabs his bag and announces he is leaving. He calls out for Ginny, who is still in the house, and insists on paying for the meal they were served. While looking in his bag for his wallet, he takes out the man's slippers he brought with him and asks Sheila to hold them for him. He tells her that the slippers are not his, that he found them in Ginny's flat, and that they might be of some use to Philip. Thank you, Sheila replies, but he's already got a pair just... As she looks at the slippers, Sheila begins to suspect what has been going on between her husband and Ginny. She goes off into the garden to think things through. Philip and Ginny return together from the house to the terrace. Philip tells Greg that, before he will let him and Ginny get married, he wants Greg's permission to take his daughter on a European trip. Ginny tries to object, but Philip keeps her quiet by threatening to show Greg the love letters she wrote him. Sheila returns to the terrace in time to overhear her husband's plans for himself and Ginny. She suggests to Greg that, since the trip is not scheduled to begin for a month, there is plenty of time for him and Ginny to get married beforehand. Before Philip can think of a good objection to this, the young people rush off to catch their train. Alone with his wife now, Philip senses that she finally understands what has been going on. He sees the slippers that Greg left behind and asks what they are doing out there in the garden. Sheila replies that he really ought to look after his things more carefully. Philip looks more closely at the slippers and says they are not his; they look similar, but the lining of his slippers is red, he points out. Remembering that this is true, Sheila realizes with a smile that the slippers must belong to yet another man in Ginny's life, someone in addition to Philip and Greg. Philip demands that Sheila tell him who the slippers belong to. Wouldn't you like to know?, Sheila answers mysteriously. She claps her hands delightedly and goes into the house, leaving a confused Philip staring down at the slippers. 5
Multiple Choice Exercise 1. Greg suspects there may be another man in Ginny's life when he finds, under her bed, a man's (a. tie, b. watch, c. pair of slippers). 2. Ginny tells Greg that she is going to the country to visit her parents, but in reality she goes there to (a. end an affair with her boss, b. see a new boyfriend c. meet a young colleague who is interested in her). 3. Greg follows Ginny to the country to ask her parents for (a. her hand in marriage, b. some money, c. a job). 4. Philip, Ginny's boss, mistakenly gets the idea that Greg wants to marry his (a. maid, b. aunt, c. wife). 5. Sheila, Philip's wife, believes that Greg has come to ask her husband for (a. some gardening advice, b. a job, c. a personal favour). 6. Ginny gives Sheila the impression that she is nothing more than Philip's (a. secretary, b. lawyer, c. tax adviser). 7. Ginny introduces Philip to Greg as her (a. colleague, b. father, c. boss) 8. Greg gets angry when Sheila denies that Ginny is her (a. daughter, b. niece, c. sister). 9. Philip wants to take Ginny (a. back to London, b. on a European trip, c. to visit his neighbours, the Coopers). 10. Sheila realizes what has been going on between her husband and Ginny when she sees the man's (a. slippers, b. hat, c. jacket) that Greg found under Ginny's bed. Answer Key: 1. c, 2. a, 3. a, 4. c, 5. b, 6. a, 7. b, 8. a, 9.b, 10. a 6 Interpretative Exercise 1. Ginny and Philip try to keep their partners from discovering their affair. Discuss how they..do this and how it results in a very funny satire on British marriage and courtship... 2. When they first meet, Sheila and Greg are extremely polite to each other and avoid asking any direct questions that could possibly offend. What would have happened differently in the play if they both had asked the questions that must have been on their minds? Is this a universal habit, or is it typically British? How does it contribute to the humorous misunderstandings in the play? 3. Critics have pointed out the similarities between RELATIVELY SPEAKING and Oscar..Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, which you may have seen...recently at The English Theatre of Hamburg. Discuss these similarities. For example: in...both plays characters leave London for the country; cigarettes have something to do with...how the address in the country is discovered; the mistaken identities and suspicions of...illegitimacy that ensue; and finally, the importance in the plot of the contents of a...hand-bag.
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