Every year, Alan Ayckbourn premieres his new play at the Old Laundry Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere and this is a bit of a red letter week for us. We love Ayckbourn. His plays are so thought provoking, quirky and humorous.
So, we were delighted to find that this year there is an extra treat for Ayckbourn lovers. The Bowness Festival Theatre is reprising an earlier work: Things We Do For Love. This play was originally produced at the Old Laundry in 1997, and I remember going to watch it! It was a huge success and went on to the West End, with Jane Asher in the lead role. I was really excited to be able to see it again.
I booked tickets for Saturday evening and we decided to have a walk and a meal in Bowness before the play.
Things We Do For Love is a fairly long play, but we were hooked from the first scene. It was excellent with a fantastic cast of four actors, all stalwart Ayckbourn regulars. Ayckbourn himself produced the play which kept it classic Ayckbourn.
The play is somewhat darker than Ayckourn's normal offering, with a warning of domestic violence. Ayckbourn has said: "I’ve always been quite fond of it; I think it’s rather a funny play, but which gets quite dark". But, in spite of this, it's an excellent story of unexpected love, obsession and self control. We absolutely loved it and had a wonderful evening.