“a mini masterpiece that is superbly entertaining. I had the Time of My Life and you will too” Stage Review
London Theatre1
Remotegoat
When do we know when we’re happy? Sometimes we say we were happy then or will be happy when, but do we ever realise it now… All seems well in the Stratton family when husband Gerry, sons Glyn and Adam with their partners Stephanie and Maureen gather to celebrate wife and mother Laura’s 54th birthday at their favourite restaurant. But tensions and secrets lurk beneath the happy, joyous surface - Glyn is trying to rebuild his marriage with Stephanie, Laura disapproves of Adam’s new girlfriend Maureen, and old unspoken feelings lie between Gerry and Laura. Each of these fragile situations needs to be addressed by bringing up the memories of the past, living the uncertainty of the present and coming to terms with the inevitability of the future. Alan Ayckbourn, in one of his most acclaimed plays, explores our perception of moments through a delicate balance of humour and pathos. Time Of My Life questions whether we spend most of our lives looking forward to things or looking back. All of the characters are in search of personal happiness, but as is so often the case, they find it difficult to recognise it once found. By learning about the family’s lives, past, present and future in a journey through time and human emotions, might we ourselves be able to get a glimpse of how best to have the time of our lives? First staged twenty-five years ago in 1992, Time Of My Life is now a classic of modern drama, combining Ayckbourn’s dialogues of sparkling humour with a heartwarming sensitivity to the struggles of the human condition. After touring around China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, the University of Cambridge Asia Theatre Tour presents Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Time of My LIfe’.