Imagine Tuesday, BBC1 - 10:35pmImagine: Alan Ayckbourn - Greetings from Scarborough Alan Ayckbourn’s 75th play, Neighbourhood Watch, had an eerie prescience about it. Despite being penned well before the summer riots, this jet-black comedy about hoodies and homeowners seemed remarkably well timed. But maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised – after all, Ayckbourn has always had a keen nose for social satire and tragicomic characters, as Alan Yentob discovers when he talks to the writer about his creations. Richard Briers, Sir Peter Hall, Michael Gambon and Catherine Tate lend their thoughts.
About this programmeAlan Yentob meets Alan Ayckbourn as he premieres his 75th work, Neighbourhood Watch, in Scarborough. Although he has been described as the world's most performed living playwright, with his work translated into more than 35 languages, he is often overlooked as a serious dramatist in the UK. Yentob uncovers what lies beneath the writer's tragi-comic characters and speaks to some of the actors and directors who have worked with him, including Peter Hall, Michael Gambon, Richard Briers, Catherine Tate and Alain Resnais.
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