Absent Friends
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Walter Cornforth
6 – 11 November 1978
Colin must be comforted in his grief over the death of his fiancee, so his friends, who never met the girl, arrange a tea party for him. Understandably, they are on edge wondering what to say, but there is more to their unease; Diane and Paul, John and Evelyn, and Marge and her husband, who is perpetually out of circulation with trivial illnesses, are all kept together by a mixture of business and cross marital emotional ties. By the time Colin arrives for tea, their tenseness contrasts dramatically with his air of cheerful relaxation. He is the only happy one among them and his happiness and insensitive analyses of their troubles causes each of them to break down.
Cast
Evelyn – Jean Franks
Diana – Marion Ellis
Marge – Pam Hammond
Paul – Neil Jarman
John – Maurice Tripp
Colin – Colin Bailey
Crew
Stage Manager – Mike Fryatt
Assistant Stage Manager – Margaret Baird
Stage Crew – Len Huntley and Bill Brookes
Properties – Elsie Bate and Christine Jarman
Lighting – Stephen Parker
Sound – Andy Howe