Ayckbourn five asides with cut to the chase…

…and a workshop for budding writers!

Love and life will be explored in Five Asides with Extra Time, a series of new plays by Philip Ayckbourn performed in the Queen’s Theatre Foyer on Wednesday 29 October at 8pm.

Directed by the Queen’s Artistic Director Bob Carlton, the Theatre’s professional resident company cut to the chase… will be performing the six short plays as informal rehearsed readings – that means no sets or costumes, just actors with scripts in hand doing what they do best.

Philip Ayckbourn is the son of acclaimed playwright Alan Ayckbourn, who wrote Relatively Speaking, which was performed at the Queen’s in the Spring. Taking a short, snappy look at relationships in the modern world, Philip’s plays are titled The Big Match, Dinner Doubts, Engagement Tackle, An Internet Connection, Friends in Need and Meeting Apart. This is a brilliant opportunity to listen to new work by a professional playwright.

Philip, who lives in Hampstead, West London, has written more than 10 plays, which have been performed at fringe theatres across London and Oxford as well as at the Edinburgh Festival. He also runs theatre tours to schools across France. “Five Asides with Extra Time is a humorous look at the perils of married life - before and beyond,” he explains.

There will also be a golden opportunity for budding playwrights to learn about the craft with a writing master class led by Philip himself on Monday 17 November at 7.30pm. The class, which aims to develop new writing skills, will be targeted at beginners and intermediates. It will look at Philip’s style, approach and influences, using Five Asides with Extra Time as a point of reference.

And there is even more new writing to look forward to at the Queen’s with Writenight on Wednesday 26 November at 8pm, an evening of short plays and extracts, submitted by local up-and-coming playwrights, performed as rehearsed readings on the Foyer stage. Tickets are £3.

Five Asides with Extra Time will be performed in the Queen’s Theatre Foyer, Billet Lane, Hornchurch, on Wednesday 29 October at 8pm and the writing master class will be held on Monday 17 November at 7.30pm. Tickets for the performance only cost £3 and tickets for the master class are £7. For anyone attending both events, tickets are just £8.

To book, call the Box Office on 01708 443333. For more information about the Queen’s, visit www.queens-theatre.co.uk