Absurd Person Singular is on iplayer - 1985, fabulous cast

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

1972 Alan Ayckbourn play filmed by the BBC in 1985. Nicky Henson, Maureen Lipman, Geoffrey Palmer, Prunella Scales, Michael Gambon and Cheryl Campbell. Perfection. Strongly recommended.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002ykss/absurd-person-singular

Oooh, thanks for the recommendation. I saw a 1972 Play For Today a couple of days ago that was really good, starring Tim Curry - Schmoedipus, written by Dennis Potter. It's on I-player too.

Edit, sorry, originally screened 1974, not 1972.

I love Maureen Lipman! That's a great tip.

I saw that when it was on originally but will watch again. Thanks @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I was in that play as a teenager at school. It's very strange and horribly dated now, even worse than it already was in 1992.

Odd choice of play for teenagers to act! Some of the specifics might be dated, but you can say that about any piece of writing from the past. I'd never seen it before and I was very favourably impressed by Ayckbourn's observation of character and by the script. It probably helped that the actors were absolutely at the top of their game. I can imagine someone looking for a suitable play for amateurs thinking 'this will do, three simple sets and six actors, and it's a farce so people will laugh and that's half the battle' - well, no, not unless it's extremely well acted. One character in particular requires a really brilliant actor for one of the three acts (and has it here).

Thank you for that!
I always see Ayckbourn’s new plays because I live within day trip distance of his home theatre. Ds (17) is impressed how much he has his finger on the pulse of modern life and his playwriting skills are still strong.
But I haven’t seen most of his early, famous ones.