Absurd Person Singular

This is one of Ayckbourn’s most often-performed plays: a comedy that follows the changing fortunes of three married couples. We visit the homes of each of the couples on successive Christmas Eves, where we experience all kinds of domestic disasters and absurdities. In the first year in an attempt to climb the social ladder, the lower-class Hopcrofts host their bank manager and his wife (the Brewster-Wrights), and their architect neighbour, Geoffrey Jackson with his suicidal wife, Eva. Havoc ensues at this festive drinks party, which they hoped would impress their high-powered friends – but that’s nothing compared to what happens at the next two Christmases when the friends return the Hopcrofts’ hospitality!