Alys, Always

by Lucinda Coxon, Harriet Lane

A psychological thriller excavating the fault lines that separate the entitled from the rest, Alys, Always is adapted for the stage by Lucinda Coxon from Harriet Lane's gripping novel.

Frances works on the books pages of a Sunday newspaper. She's quiet and capable, but nobody takes much notice: her face is pressed to the window, on the outside, looking in.

One evening, driving back to London after visiting her infuriating parents, she comes across an overturned car crumpled on the side of the road. She waits with the injured driver, Alys Kyte, until the ambulance arrives. Later, when Alys's famous family gets in touch, Frances finds herself ushered for the first time into the world on the other side of the window. And she begins to wonder: what will it take to belong?

This stage version of Alys, Always was premiered at the Bridge Theatre, London, in February 2019, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Joanne Froggatt and Robert Glenister.

Genres: Plays

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2019

Reviews

[Doug]

2.5, rounded up.

I'd never heard of the source novel, but it seems from Coxon's unwieldy adaptation to be rather an odd choice for a play. Aside from the problem of the large cast playing rather glib and superficial characterizations, the play is composed of literally over a hundred small scenes in a dizzying number of locales - none of which lasts more than a few minutes, making for a real lack of involvement or momentum. The other problem is the central character of Frances, who is rather drab and lacks any real cunning until the final few pages.

These reviews are spot-on:

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/201...

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lif...#!

[Blair]

Bridge Theatre 20/02/19

[Rebekah Parsons]

A very very interesting examination of what we will do to get what we want.

[Steve Mayer]

Fun to watch and then to read.

[Paul Wilson]

Really liked this. Unease increased across the play. Would like to read the original novel.