Alan Ayckbourn Encyclopaedia: J
James, Mary: The professional name of Alan's mother, Irene Maud Worley, during her writing career.James, Paul: Lyricist who - alongside the composers Cathy Shostak and Eric Angus - adapted Alan Ayckbourn's play The Boy Who Fell Into A Book into a musical, premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in July 2014.
Jeeves: Alan Ayckbourn's 18th play premiered at the Bristol Hippodrome on 22 March 1975 and opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, on 22 April 1975. It was Alan Ayckbourn's first musical with him writing the book and lyrics with music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based upon the works of P.G,Wodehouse. A notorious West End flop, it closed in London on 24 May 1975, but formed the basis of the critically acclaimed - and significantly revised musical - By Jeeves, which premiere in 1996 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. The original musical Jeeves has been withdrawn from production by the playwright and has never been published.
Jeeves (original cast recording): The rarest of the commercially released recordings of Alan Ayckbourn's works. This is the original sound-track for the West End musical by Alan Ayckbourn and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which was released on vinyl LP by MCA in 1975.
Jenkins, Kevin: Regular designer for both the world premieres and revivals of Alan Ayckbourn's plays staged at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, since 2014. Notable productions include the world premieres of A Brief History of Women and Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present.
'Jennings' play: Alan Ayckbourn's earliest play written whilst ill at school and based upon Anthony Buckeridge's Jennings novels.
Joking Apart: Alan Ayckbourn's 22nd play premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, on 11 January 1978 and opened at the Globe Theatre, London, on 7 March 1979. Set over 12 years, it centres on a golden couple and the misery their apparent perfection brings to those around them.
Joking Apart (radio - 1981): The play was adapted for radio and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 12 July 1981. The production featured Jonathan Newth, Fiona Walker and Malcolm Hebden.
Joking Apart (radio - 1990): The play was later adapted again for radio by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 9 February 1990. The production was directed by Michael Fox and featured Pam Ferris and Malcolm Raeburn.
Joking Apart And Other Plays (collection): A collection of Alan Ayckbourn's plays published by Penguin. This collects two previous hardcover volumes and includes the texts for Joking Apart, Ten Times Table, Just Between Ourselves and Sisterly Feelings.
The Jollies: Alan Ayckbourn's 62nd play premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on 3 December 2002. A play for the family, it sees a young boy step into a magic cabinet and step out with a 25 year old body, while his Mum loses 20 years following him! In their awkward bodies, can the Jollies find the magician and set things right?
The Jollies (concept): The original concept for The Jollies was a play inspired by Big Brother type reality shows featuring the Jollie family, whose lives are filmed 24 hours a day. Soon after he began writing, he abandoned the play despite it having been advertised to schools in the Scarborough area.
Joseph, Stephen: Alan Ayckbourn's mentor and founder of both England's first professional in-the-round company, at Scarborough, and permanent in-the-round venue at Stoke-on-Trent. Son of actress Hermione Gingold and publisher Michael Joseph, Stephen Joseph was passionate about theatre and was instrumental in the development of organisations such as ABTT, the Society Of Theatre Consultants and various theatre venues. He also published several books on stage forms and the history of English theatre. Born in 1921, he died from cancer on 5 October 1967.
The Jubilee Show: One of the Grey Plays (produced but unpublished), The Jubilee Show is a full-length revue by Alan Ayckbourn and Mervyn Watson written to mark the Queen's silver jubilee in 1977. It premiered on 7 June 1977 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round and is a humorous mock news report looking at events of the past 25 years. The Jubilee Show is not available to produce.
The Judge: One of the five inter-linked one-act plays which comprise Alan Ayckbourn's 78th play Roundelay; the order of the plays determined randomly prior to each performance.
Just Between Ourselves: Alan Ayckbourn's 20th play premiered at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, on 28 January 1976 and opened at the Queen's Theatre, London, on 20 April 1977. Set over four birthdays and in a garage, it charts the disintegration into nervous breakdown of Vera, whose husband Dennis is oblivious to her needs.
Just Between Ourselves (concept): Although Alan Ayckbourn's earliest concepts for Just Between Ourselves resemble the finished play in most ways, there is a major difference in the pivotal character of Dennis was a manic depressive and it is his mood swings rather than his ignorance of his wife Vera's plight, which is indirectly responsible for Vera's eventual breakdown.
Just Between Ourselves (audio drama): The play was adapted for an audio book by the US based company LA Theatre Works and released commercially in 2000. It features Miriam Margoyles and Alfred Molina.
Just Between Ourselves (radio - 1984): The play was adapted for radio by the BBC World Service and believed to have been first broadcast in 1983 before being repeated on BBC Radio 4 on 6 February 1984. The production was directed by Gordon House and featured Peter Vaughan as Dennis and Jennifer Piercey as Vera.
Just Between Ourselves (radio - 2008): The play was adapted for a second time for the radio by BBC Radio 4 and first broadcast on 13 September 2008. The production was again directed by Gordon House and featured Stephen Critchlow as Dennis and Samantha Spiro as Vera.
Just Between Ourselves (television): The play was adapted for television by Yorkshire Television and first broadcast on 23 July 1978 on ITV. The production was directed by Marc Miller and featured Richard Briers as Dennis and Rosemary Leach as Vera.
Original research for the The Alan Ayckbourn Encyclopaedia section is by Simon Murgatroyd and copyright of the author.