Confusions

Confusions, an often-studied series of plays, typifies Alan Ayckbourn's particular brand of black comedy on human behaviour.

Confusions, a series of plays for four-to-five actors, typifies Alan Ayckbourn's particular brand of black comedy on human behaviour. The plays are alternately naturalistic, stylised and farcical, but underlying each is the echoing problem of profound loneliness. From a devoted and isolated mother, to her unfaithful travelling salesman husband, through a solicitous waiter to well-heeled diners and an utterly shambolic garden fete, human frailty is laid bare as one hilarious situation after another unfolds. Each of the plays connects to the next through one of its characters until the final one is reached when four people sit alone on park benches. From high farce to poignant observation; the laughs, however dark, keep coming. This new edition was published to coincide with the first ever revival of the play, staged at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on 9 July 2015.