Lesson 5-Man of the moment Part Two Backgroumd Iformation W E ENTER
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment Part Two ENTER
Lesson 5-Man of the moment Background Information Content nts 工。 Author IL。 Synopsis of Act工 III. Archive for Man of the Moment IV. An Interview with Alan Ayckbourn W E BAC
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment I. Author II. Synopsis of Act I III. Archive for Man of the Moment IV. An Interview with Alan Ayckbourn Background Information
Lesson 5-Man of the moment . Author Alan Ayckbourn, born in 1939, British playwright, actor, and theater director, best known for his farcical dramas about the british middle class. He went straight into the theatre as a stage manager after leaving school. He is now a full-time theatre director. Working both at the Royal National Theatre in London and at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round Scarborough. He has written over 50 comedies, many of them works of startling technical ingenuity with surprising quantities of pain and sorrow in them. W E To be continued on the next page
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment Alan Ayckbourn, born in 1939, British playwright, actor, and theater director, best known for his farcical dramas about the British middle class. He went straight into the theatre as a stage manager after leaving school. He is now a full-time theatre director. Working both at the Royal National Theatre in London and at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough. He has written over 50 comedies, many of them works of startling technical ingenuity with surprising quantities of pain and sorrow in them. I. Author To be continued on the next page
Lesson 5-Man of the moment . Author He is one of the world's most commercially successful dramatists, and has demonstrated over a long and constantly evolving career that it is possible to both a popular and a serious artist. he has been called wildly funny and deeply tragic","a left-wing writer using a right-wing form",and the most acute analyst of contemporary British society although he occasionally insists that his only intention is to entertain W E To be continued on the next page
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment He is one of the world’s most commercially successful dramatists, and has demonstrated over a long and constantly evolving career that it is possible to both a popular and a serious artist. He has been called “wildly funny and deeply tragic”, “a left-wing writer using a right-wing form”, and “the most acute analyst of contemporary British society”, although he occasionally insists that his only intention is to entertain. I. Author To be continued on the next page
Lesson 5-Man of the moment . Author Ayckbourn's plays are often noted for their interesting use of theatrical sets, as in The Norman Conquests, a trilogy of plays that show, respectively, simultaneous events in the dining room, living room, and garden of the same house during one weekend. The plays House (1999) and Garden(1999) take place on a single day and were designed to be performed simultaneously, by the same cast, in adjacent theaters. As Ayckbourns writing has matured, the themes of his plays have become more serious and the farce has become darker W E To be continued on the next page
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment Ayckbourn’s plays are often noted for their interesting use of theatrical sets, as in The Norman Conquests, a trilogy of plays that show, respectively, simultaneous events in the dining room, living room, and garden of the same house during one weekend. The plays House (1999) and Garden (1999) take place on a single day and were designed to be performed simultaneously, by the same cast, in adjacent theaters. As Ayckbourn’s writing has matured, the themes of his plays have become more serious and the farce has become darker. I. Author To be continued on the next page
Lesson 5-Man of the moment . Author 级 other plays include Absurd Person Singular, Intimate Exchanges (a series of plays with sixteen different endings, all with the same main characters and opening scene), Woman in Mind, and A Small Family Business. his life and views are entertainingly recorded in Conversations with Ayckbourn by Ian Watson W E The end of author
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment Other plays include Absurd Person Singular, Intimate Exchanges (a series of plays with sixteen different endings, all with the same main characters and opening scene), Woman in Mind, and A Small Family Business. His life and views are entertainingly recorded in Conversations with Ayckbourn by Ian Watson. I. Author The end of Author
Lesson 5-Man of the moment II. Synopsis ofActI The present text is Act II. The story goes like this in Act I: It was 17 years ago that Vic Parks and Douglas Beechey first met, when Vic attempted to rob the bank where Douglas worked. Douglas foiled the robbery and became a hero, feted by the media meanwhile vic was sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence. Seventeen years on and where are they both? The media attention soon faded for mild mannered Douglas and he drifted back into W E To be continued on the next page
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment II. Synopsis of Act I The present text is Act II. The story goes like this in Act I: It was 17 years ago that Vic Parks and Douglas Beechey first met, when Vic attempted to rob the bank where Douglas worked. Douglas foiled the robbery and became a hero, feted by the media. Meanwhile Vic was sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence. Seventeen years on and where are they both? The media attention soon faded for mild mannered Douglas and he drifted back into To be continued on the next page
Lesson 5-Man of the moment II. Synopsis faCt 1 obscurity, leaving the bank to work for a double glazing company. Vic meantime discovered an interest and talent for writing whilst in prison and proceeded to develop a successful publishing and then TV career upon finishing his sentence. Now living in a villa, complete with swimming pool, in Spain, vic has agreed to appear in the TV show Their Paths Crossed The host Jill Rillington intends to bring together, 17 years on, vic with Douglas Beechey-the unassuming clerk who foiled the robbery. W E To be continued on the next page
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment II. Synopsis of Act 1 obscurity, leaving the bank to work for a double glazing company. Vic meantime discovered an interest and talent for writing whilst in prison and proceeded to develop a successful publishing and then TV career upon finishing his sentence. Now living in a villa, complete with swimming pool, in Spain, Vic has agreed to appear in the TV show “Their Paths Crossed”. The host Jill Rillington intends to bring together, 17 years on, Vic with Douglas Beechey—the unassuming clerk who foiled the robbery. To be continued on the next page
esson 5-Man of the moment II. Synopsis faCt 1 Jill hopes to exploit the irony that although Douglas had a brief 15 minutes of fame and married his true love-incidentally maimed during the raid-the man who has found true success and celebrity is the villain. Expecting jealousy, envy and bitterness from Douglas. Now they are to be reunited at Vic's Mediterranean home. How will they react to seeing each other once again and what effect will their meeting have on Vic's long suffering wife Trudy? W E The end of Synopsis of Act 1
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment II. Synopsis of Act 1 Jill hopes to exploit the irony that although Douglas had a brief 15 minutes of fame and married his true love—incidentally maimed during the raid—the man who has found true success and celebrity is the villain. Expecting jealousy, envy and bitterness from Douglas. Now they are to be reunited at Vic’s Mediterranean home. How will they react to seeing each other once again and what effect will their meeting have on Vic’s long suffering wife Trudy? The end of Synopsis of Act 1
Lesson 5-Man of the moment III Archive for man of the Moment Man of the moment is one of Ayckbourns typically very dark comedies in which nothing is quite what it seems or as clear cut as appearances would first indicate The play was presented in London in 1990, becoming a joint winner of the Evening Standard Best Comedy Award in the same year. In 1990 it was also nominated forthe Play of the Year W E The end of Archive for Man of the moment BACI
W B T L E Lesson 5—Man of the Moment III. Archive for Man of the Moment Man of the Moment is one of Ayckbourn’s typically very dark comedies in which nothing is quite what it seems or as clear cut as appearances would first indicate. The play was presented in London in 1990, becoming a joint winner of the Evening Standard Best Comedy Award in the same year. In 1990 it was also nominated for “the Play of the Year”. The end of Archive for Man of the Moment