Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays: Facts

Key facts relating to Alan Ayckbourn's Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays.
  • Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays is Alan Ayckbourn's 36th play.
  • The world premiere was held at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, on 30 November, 1988.
  • The London premiere was held at Polka Children's Theatre on 30 September 1989...
  • The better known London production though was staged in The Cottesloe at the National Theatre from 4 March 1993 and directed by Alan Ayckbourn.
  • The play was originally performed in repertory at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, with a new adaptation of The Turn of The Screw by Henry James and both plays shared the same set.
  • It is considered the first of Alan Ayckbourn's family plays; plays intended for audiences young and old rather than just specifically children.
  • Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays is one of Alan Ayckbourn's chance play swhich also include Sisterly Feelings, It Could Be Any One Of Us and Roundelay (but not Intimate Exchanges as despite all its possible permutations, these are decided before the play rather than on-stage).
  • The role of Neville the dog was originally played in Scarborough (and at the National Theatre) by Adam Godley. From being an enthusiastic, over-sized canine, Adam has become a highly respected stage and screen actor nominated for both Olivier and Tony Awards as well as appearing in notable films such as Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Richard Curtis's Love Actually and television's Breaking Bad..
  • The location of the Cabinet Of Sounds changes for each performance (or at least it should) so not only is Suzy's path random every performance but the location of the cabinet should also be a surprise to the audience too (even if they have seen the play before)
  • Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays introduces several elements which will recur in different ways through his family plays such as the absent father and the young heroine having to face danger and responsibility. It's also the first of his plays to introduce an over-sized animal on stage with another notable pooch being Rambo in The Jollies.
  • In 2018, the play was adapted into an opera for the Semperoper in Dresden. Das Rätsel der gestohlenen Stimmen was composed by Johannes Wulff-Woesten with a libretto by Manfred Weiß, based on Alan's play.
Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without the permission of the copyright holder.