WRITER

Alan Ayckbourn

1939 - Today

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Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit Relatively Speaking opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1967. Major successes include Absurd Person Singular (1972), The Norman Conquests trilogy (1973), Absent Friends (1974), Bedroom Farce (1975), Just Between Ourselves (1976), A Chorus of Disapproval (1984), Woman in Mind (1985), A Small Family Business (1987), Man of the Moment (1988), House & Garden (1999) and Private Fears in Public Places (2004). Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Alan Ayckbourn is the 5,340th most popular writer (up from 5,730th in 2019), the 4,261st most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 4,467th in 2019) and the 463rd most popular British Writer.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Alan Ayckbourn ranks 5,340 out of 7,302Before him are Gamal El-Ghitani, Edward Rutherfurd, Takashi Tezuka, Carol J. Adams, Ernest Dowson, and Ariel Durant. After him are David Brown, Suryakant Tripathi, Alexander Vostokov, Kama Sywor Kamanda, John Kaminiates, and Michael Frayn.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1939, Alan Ayckbourn ranks 456Before him are Richard Posner, Anjanette Comer, Antal Szentmihályi, Madalena Iglésias, Joe Sample, and Jaroslav Walter. After him are Carolee Schneemann, Mike Farrell, Gérard Hausser, Joseph Bonnel, Ivan Vutsov, and John Pilger.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Alan Ayckbourn ranks 4,262 out of 8,785Before him are Frank Dillane (1991), Richard D. Ryder (1940), Stephen Gardiner (1497), Edward Rutherfurd (1948), Spike Edney (1951), and Ernest Dowson (1867). After him are Joseph Bramah (1748), Johnny Marr (1963), Michael Frayn (1933), Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea (1810), Daisy Edgar-Jones (1998), and Thomas Pennant (1726).

Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Alan Ayckbourn ranks 463Before him are Roger Hargreaves (1935), Peter F. Hamilton (1960), Thomas Love Peacock (1785), Richard D. Ryder (1940), Edward Rutherfurd (1948), and Ernest Dowson (1867). After him are Michael Frayn (1933), Ramsey Campbell (1946), Aneirin (525), Pat Barker (1943), Anne V. Coates (1925), and Donald Rayfield (1942).