Alan Ayckbourn is a prolific and highly respected playwright, sometimes called “the Moliere of the middle classes,” whose works (70 full plays, and over 20 other revues and plays for children) have spanned some forty years.  Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough from 1972 to 2009, he also spent two years as visiting director at London’s National Theatre.  More than half his plays have been produced in the West End or at the National Theatre; at one point, Ayckbourn held the record for having the most professional productions of his work being performed simultaneously in the West End.  His work is characterized by his constant willingness to experiment with stage time and space, which led the noted critic Michael Billington to label him as one of the few British playwrights to be constantly pushing the envelope of theatre. 

In 1997, he became the first playwright to be knighted since Terence Rattigan.  Ayckbourn suffered a stroke in 2006, but later that year was directing his latest play at the Stephen Joseph.  His most recent work is this year’s Life of Riley.  He just received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.