Relatively Speaking

by Alan Ayckbourn

London in the 1960 Greg wants to marry Ginny, but first she needs to shake off the attention of her older lover (and former boss) Philip and recover some compromising letters. Claiming she is going to meet her parents, she sets off for the country. Love-struck Greg follows and inadvertently arrives first, meeting Philip's wife Sheila, whom he naturally presumes to be Ginny's mother. The scene is set for a comedy of secrets, lies, misunderstandings and farce.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre

Paperback

First published July 8, 1965

About the author

Sir Alan Ayckbourn is a popular and prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit Relatively Speaking opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1967. Major successes include Absurd Person Singular (1975), The Norman Conquests trilogy (1973), Bedroom Farce (1975), Just Between Ourselves (1976), A Chorus of Disapproval (1984), Woman in Mind (1985), A Small Family Business (1987), Man Of The Moment (1988), House & Garden (1999) and Private Fears in Public Places (2004). His plays have won numerous awards, including seven London Evening Standard Awards. They have been translated into over 35 languages and are performed on stage and television throughout the world. Ten of his plays have been staged on Broadway, attracting two Tony nominations, and one Tony award.

Reviews

[Anton Segers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voor de betere komedie, heel fijn - met geestige inzichten in de kleine kantjes der mensen, inzonderheid in de liefde - moet je bij Alan Ayckbourn zijn. Relatively speaking.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilariously funny play that helped launch Ayckbourn's career.

[Cara Patel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this, being an Aychbourn play, but I thought it was just fine.

The story takes a little bit to get going, especially on the first read through as the characters seem to be having a number of random conversations that go nowhere. Once the two couples meet though, I did enjoy the situational comedy. Plot lines surrounding affairs and cheating are not usually my thing but Alan Ayckbourn makes it work.

I found the characters rather bland though. I think some of them would be rather fun to play because of how much you can interpret what it there to flesh them out, rather than them being fully fleshed out multidimentional characters on page.

My main issue is how dated this one feels compared to other Ayckbourn plays. Some of the references didn't make much sense to me, but if I were putting this on those could easily be changed without affecting the plot very much. My bigger issue was with some of the dated opinions, especially regarding the behaviour of the character Philip. His speach about women who wear short skirts was remarkably uncomfortable to read, etc, etc.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

One may be forgiven for thinking that if they have read one Ayckbourn play, they have read them all. Or seen them. Same effect. I think it is the way he writes dialog that reveals things to the audience that the characters on stage do not understand. This takes great skill, of course, but that this is the main feature of play after play, and clueless characters appear in play after play, finally worn me down. I did not enjoy RELATIVELY SPEAKING as much as I might have had this been the first Ayckbourn I had read or seen, or even the second, or the third, or the . . .

[Zuzana · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/6/26 Divadlo Palace
Bláznivá komedie o dvou párech - aneb když milenka s novým přítelem navštíví postaršího milence s manželkou u nich doma a polovina z obou párů netuší, co se vlastně děje. Na mě trochu moc "bláznivé".
2.5 stars

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable play although obviously a bit dated now.

[William Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early work and, I think, his breakthrough success. Not as complex or innovative as later works, it’s nonetheless a terrific, classic farce. Perfectly turned.

[James Silvestri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in this. It was dumb.

[Janine Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Rangifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had so much fun working on this play in community theatre when I was younger. A classic farce!

[DarrenBrennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for this 1960's British farce.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing, but very dated. Works better on stage than to read.

[Aka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've found it very funny.

[Sunita Ganapathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Enjoyed reading it.