Thursday, 26 September 2024

Way Upstream | English Full Movie | Comedy Drama Horror


Way Upstream
Written byAlan Ayckbourn
CharactersKeith 
June 
Alistair 
Emma 
Mrs. Hatfield 
Vince 
Fleur
Date premiered2 October 1981
Place premieredStephen Joseph Theatre(Westwood site), Scarborough
Original languageEnglish
SubjectPower struggles
Official site
Ayckbourn chronology
Season's Greetings
(1980)
Making Tracks
(1981)

Way Upstream is a play by Alan Ayckbourn. It was first performed, under Ayckbourn's direction, in ScarboroughNorth Yorkshire, UK, "in the round" at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, on 2 October 1981.[1] Although realistic in style, with a setting of a hired cabin cruiser on an English river, some journalists read it as an allegory of the political state of England at the time, with the violent resolution of the usurping captain's tyrannical regime taking place at "Armageddon Bridge", and crew members "Alistair" and "Emma" (representing an innocent "Adam" and "Eve") making a new start at the end.[2][3] Ayckbourn, however, always maintained he was an apolitical writer and is on frequent record for his lack of interest in party politics; his website makes it clear that the play is not about the political state of the nation.[4]

Original cast

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London opening

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The London première was at the proscenium Lyttelton Theatre on 4 October 1982, with Ayckbourn again directing.[5] It had been postponed since August; the production became notorious because of its many technical problems during rehearsal, most spectacularly the bursting of the water tank which flooded the National Theatre.

Cast

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Critical reception

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At the much-delayed première the excitement of the technical problems distorted the appreciation of some critics with Jack Tinker, representative of the  Daily Mail, turning up wearing wellington boots.[6] Most, however, found a work of "genuine merit".[2][7]

Other productions

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It is possible to stage the work without a flooded set and it remains popular with both professional companies and amateur societies.[8] It was revived at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in October 2003.[9] In 1987 the BBC adapted the play as a TV movie, but this has never been released on DVD.[10]

BBC Cast

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