Playwright Ayckbourn Talks Life and Career at 59E59 Theaters, 11/15

The life and works of playwright and director Alan Ayckbourn will be the focus of 'In Conversation with Alan Ayckbourn' on November 15th. American Theatre Wing Director Howard Sherman will moderate the discussions to be held at the 59E59 Theaters.

Alan Ayckbourn, one of Britain's most performed playwrights, is author of over 70 plays. Almost all of them premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, where he was Artistic Director from 1972 - 2009. More than half were subsequently staged in the West End, at the National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Major successes include Relatively Speaking, How The Other Half Loves, Absurd Person Singular, Bedroom Farce, A Chorus of Disapproval, A Small Family Business, Henceforward..., Comic Potential, Things We Do For Love and House & Garden.

His Woman In Mind with the original Scarborough cast completed a successful West End run earlier this year while Matthew Warchus' hit in-the-round production of The Norman Conquests first seen at the Old Vic last year transferred in its entirety to the Circle in the Square on Broadway. It opened to rave reviews in April earning seven Tony nominations and winning Best Revival.

His plays have been translated into 35 languages, won numerous awards nationally and internationally, and have been performed worldwide on stage and television. There have been English and French screen adaptations, the most recent being Alain Resnais' beautiful film of Private Fears In Public Places which won that great director a Silver Lion at the 2006 Venice Film Festival.

Alan Ayckbourn is the recipient of many literary awards including a Montblanc de la Culture Award for Europe. This year, he not only received a Lifetime Achievement in American Theatre honour when he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame, but also at the 2009 Olivier Awards in recognition of his work and his services to the theatre, the Society of London Theatres gave him its Special Award. He was knighted in 1997.

Tickets for the 'in conversation' event are $25 and can be purchased by visiting www.britsoffbroadway.com or clicking here.

Ayckbourn's newest (and 73rd) play, My Wonderful Day, will make its US premiere at 59E59 Theaters, direct from its World Premiere at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. My Wonderful Day begins previews on Wednesday, November 11 for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 13.

In My Wonderful Day, Winnie lives in a world full of adults. She's off school for the day and has an essay to write, ‘'My Wonderful Day." What better opportunity than quietly seated unnoticed in a corner, whilst mother busies herself around the house? What better source of material than the bizarre and increasingly frenetic comings and goings of adults in the weird household in which she finds herself? Enjoy a child's eye view of her ‘'Wonderful' day and prepare to be appalled.

The cast of My Wonderful Day includes Ayesha Antoine, Terence Booth, Ruth Gibson, Paul Kemp (Private Fears in Public Places), Petra Letang and Alexandra Mathie (Private Fears in Public Places).

The performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00 PM; Wednesday - Friday at 8:00 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; and Sunday at 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Tickets are $45 during previews, $60 after opening ($31.50/$42 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.ticketcentral.com. For more information, visit www.59e59.org or www.britsoffbroadway.com.