Henceforward... (1987)

Author:
New Play:

Venue:
Location:
Staging:

First performance:
Opening night:
Final performance:
Alan Ayckbourn
Yes

Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round
Main house (Round)
Round

30 July 1987
30 July 1987
16 January 1988
Director:
Lighting:
Design:
Music:
Synclavier programming:
Alan Ayckbourn
Mick Thomas
Roger Glossop
Paul Todd
Yasmin Hashmi
Stage Manager:
Deputy Stage Manager:
Deputy Stage Manager:
Assistant Stage Manager:
Assistant Stage Manager:

Character
Jerome
Lupus
Zoë
Geain, aged 9
Corinna
Mervyn
Geain, aged 13
Rita (voice)
NAN 300F
Duncan Lewis
David Parker
David O'Neill
Braco Dawson
Kate Haswell

Actor
Barry McCarthy
Robin Herford
Serena Evans
Victoria Horsfield
Penny Bunton
Michael Roberts
Emma Chambers
Braco Dawson
Herself

Why is this play significant?

During 1986 - 1988, Alan Ayckbourn took a sabbatical from Scarborough to join the National Theatre as a Company Director. Although nominally still Artistic Director, Alan had little direct involvement with the company during this period. He did though premiere a new work, Henceforward…, considered to the be first of his speculative fiction works (actually, it's his second) and one of his darkest works with the implication every character is dead or about to die by the end of the play. It featured the debut of Emma Chambers with the company who would work with Alan a number of times before finding stage and screen success.

Notes

○ Henceforward… was originally advertised as closing on 31 October 1987, however its popularity led to it being extended into the Winter Season and running in rep until 16 January 1988. The play was then also revived for the summer 1988 season.
○ Henceforward... marked the final appearance of long-standing company member Robin Herford as an actor at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round; he appeared in pre-recorded video segments.
○ The production was directed whilst Alan Ayckbourn was still on his two-year sabbatical at the National Theatre. Prior to accepting the role, he had agreed to return to direct his new play at the theatre in 1987.
○ The posters for the main-house shows during the summer 1987 (Spokesong, Getting On and Henceforward…) all share a motif of a bike chain-link within the image design - at the instigation of the press officer Russ Allen. To this day, no-one else who has worked at the theatre at the time (or subsequently) appears to have ever known what the purpose of this was for three completely unrelated plays. It is also doubtful whether anyone actually noticed!

Links

All research for this page by Simon Murgatroyd.