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Way Upstream

Field	Value
name	Way Upstream
image	way-upstream.jpg
writer	Alan Ayckbourn
characters	Keith
June
Alistair
Emma
Mrs. Hatfield
Vince
Fleur
premiere	2 October 1981
place	Stephen Joseph Theatre (Westwood site), Scarborough
orig_lang	English
subject	Power struggles
web	http://wayupstream.alanayckbourn.net/
chronology	Ayckbourn
last_play	Season's Greetings
(1980)
next_play	Making Tracks
(1981)

June Alistair Emma Mrs. Hatfield Vince Fleur (1980) (1981)

Way Upstream is a play by Alan Ayckbourn. It was first performed, under Ayckbourn's direction, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK, "in the round" at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, on 2 October 1981. Although realistic in style, with a setting of a hired cabin cruiser on an English river, some journalists read it as an allegory of the political state of England at the time, with the violent resolution of the usurping captain's tyrannical regime taking place at "Armageddon Bridge", and crew members "Alistair" and "Emma" (representing an innocent "Adam" and "Eve") making a new start at the end. Ayckbourn, however, always maintained he was an apolitical writer and is on frequent record for his lack of interest in party politics; his website makes it clear that the play is not about the political state of the nation.

Original cast

Keith: Robin Bowerman
June: Carole Boyd
Alistair: Robin Herford
Emma: Lavinia Bertram
Mrs Hatfield: Susan Uebel
Vince: Graeme Eton
Fleur: Gillian Bevan

London opening

The London première was at the proscenium Lyttelton Theatre on 4 October 1982, with Ayckbourn again directing. It had been postponed since August; the production became notorious because of its many technical problems during rehearsal, most spectacularly the bursting of the water tank which flooded the National Theatre.

Cast

Keith: Tony Haygarth
June: Susan Fleetwood
Alistair: Jim Norton
Emma: Julie Legrand
Mrs Hatfield: Jane Downs
Vince: James Laurenson
Fleur: Nina Thomas

Critical reception

At the much-delayed première the excitement of the technical problems distorted the appreciation of some critics with Jack Tinker, representative of the Daily Mail, turning up wearing Wellington boots. Most, however, found a work of "genuine merit".

Other productions

It is possible to stage the work without a flooded set and it remains popular with both professional companies and amateur societies. It was revived at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in October 2003. In 1987 the BBC adapted the play as a TV movie, but this has never been released on DVD.

BBC Cast

Keith: Barrie Rutter
June: Marion Bailey
Alistair: Nick Dunning
Emma: Joanne Pearce
Mrs Hatfield: Veronica Clifford
Vince: Stuart Wilson
Fleur: Lizzy McInnerny

References

Ayckbourn, Alan. (1983). ''Way Upstream: A Play''. London: Samuel French. {{ISBN. 0-573-11504-4.
Londré, Felicia Hardison. (1996). "Encyclopedia of British Humorists". Taylor & Francis.
Hayman, Ronald. (1984). "McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama". McGraw-Hill.
"Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website".
Staff. "Past events 1981-1985". [[Royal National Theatre.
Billington, Michael. (23 October 2003). "The show must float on". [[The Guardian]].
Allen, Paul. (2001). "Alan Ayckbourn: Grinning at the Edge". Methuen.
Murgatroyd, Simon. (2006). "Way Upstream: Background & History". Alan Ayckbourn's official website.
Watson, Ian. (24 October 2003). "Way Upstream (Scarborough)". Whatsonstage.com.
{{IMDb title

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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