ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR Returns To New York This Christmas

Tony and Olivier Award winning playwright Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular returns to New York this Christmas.

The classic comedy, which broke Broadway records in 1976, is coming to Theatre Row, 42nd Street, from 11 to 29 December in a revival by the theatre company Dick & Lottie: the UK's only theatre company dedicated exclusively to the works of the prolific and popular British playwright.

This will mark the New York debut of the company with a revival of the play which brought Alan Ayckbourn to Broadway's attention in the '70s and the playwright is delighted to see the company producing his work in the city.

"The Dick and Lottie Company were founded with the specific intention of solely producing plays of mine. I ask you, what is there not to love about them? I wish them every success with their New York adventure."

Absurd Person Singular is one of Alan Ayckbourn's most acclaimed and popular plays, and frequently features in significant 20th century play lists. It follows three couples over three Christmases and the inexorable ascendancy of the socially inferior Hopcrofts over their peers in a frequently hilarious play that is credited as being a defining tragi-comedy.

First produced in 1972, Absurd Person Singular went onto an award-winning run in the West End, directed by Eric Thompson, in 1973 before Thompson brought the play to the Music Box Theatre on Broadway where it for ran for 18 months; breaking the existing record for the longest run of a comedy on Broadway by a British playwright.

Dick & Lottie was founded in Huddersfield, England, in 2004 and has produced more than 30 of Ayckbourn's plays. It is the only company to have been invited to the playwright's own rehearsal rooms to give a private performance of one of his plays.

Artistic Director John Cotgrave said it was a dream come true to bring Dick and Lottie to New York with one of Ayckbourn's most loved plays, particularly as the playwright's work has been so warmly received by New York audiences in recent years.

"After 15 years of creating first class theatre in the UK, the time has come to share or work with New York audiences. Dick & Lottie are thrilled to make their New York debut with this classic British comedy"

This production coincides with Ayckbourn's 80th birthday year and also the 60th anniversary of his playwriting debut. The playwright has had ten plays staged on Broadway and, since 2005, his regular visits to the Brits Off Broadway festival have been critically acclaimed and broken box office records at the 59E59 Theatres.

In 2010, he was presented with the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He is the only playwright to have received both this and The Laurence Olivier Awards Special Award. This year saw the world premiere of his 83rd play and he has directed more than 350 productions in the West End, in New York and at his home venue, the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Absurd Person Singular can be seen at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, from 11 to 29 December. Tickets are priced $72.25 and can be booked via theatrerow.orgwww.telecharge.com or from the box office.

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