Playgoers bring Ayckbourn classic to Peterborough stage

Greg and Ginny have only been seeing each other a short but he has decided that she is the girl for him.

When she goes to visit "her parents" for the day he decides to gatecrash the visit – which leads us all into a tangled web of hilarious mistaken identities right up to the very last sentence.

This is the play that made Ayckbourn a household name because it is his most complete comedy, and although it isn't a farce, it has the plot of a fully formed farce with eccentrically comic but real characters.

It opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End on 29th March 1967 starring Michael Hordern, Celia Johnson and a young Richard Briers.

The night before Ayckbourn had been a virtual unknown in London, by the next morning he was famous.

On 2nd May that year he received a congratulatory telegram from Noel Coward which read "Dear Alan, all my congratulations on a beautifully constructed and very, very funny comedy. I enjoyed every moment of it!"

The Playgoers, directed by Jennie Dighton, will be performing at the city’s Key Theatre Studio from Wednesday, June 19, until Saturday, June 22, with evening performances at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets are on sale at www.keytheatre-peterborough.com