Frequently Asked Questions: The Website
This page contains Frequently Asked Questions regarding the website and its administration. If you have any other questions, please contact the website via the Contact Us Page.The Website
2023 Update: Why does the website no longer carry amateur production listings?Unfortunately, as of December 2022, Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website no longer carries listings for amateur productions. Whilst this is not an ideal situation, it sadly became inevitable. Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website currently runs to 3,500 pages, it is solely maintained, updated and expanded by one person - Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist Simon Murgatroyd - as just one aspect of his professional responsibilities. Despite it being made clear over the past several years that Alan Ayckbourn is not automatically notified about amateur productions and companies needed to submit details about their productions, only a handful of companies ever contacted the site. All other listings were obtained by Simon scouring social media and various amateur listings sites for productions. Obviously, this was neither a productive use of time nor resources which, ultimately, led to the decision to close the amateur listings. Unfortunately, there is no single online resource compiling amateur productions, but this website recommends NODA and Drama Groups for anyone looking for amateur productions.
○ Who administers Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website?
The site is administered, compiled, researched and maintained by Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist & Media Administrator Simon Murgatroyd, who also founded the site. The website was also designed by Simon and is built on the Rapidweaver engine.
○ How did it develop?
Aside from a life-long interest in Alan Ayckbourn's work; my MA specialised in Alan's plays, culminating in a 65,000 word dissertation. As a result of the two years spent researching the plays, I realised I had a lot of potentially useful information for people interested in Alan's work. Combined with the fact that comparatively little has been published about Alan, I decided in 2002 to create a web-site that could comprehensively offer information on Alan to help future students of his work and to provide a general insight into the plays and their history. During 2005, I was appointed Alan Ayckbourn's personal Archivist and, since then, the website has continued to expand and now draws information from the Ayckbourn Archive, The Bob Watson Archive at the Stephen Joseph Theatre and the website's own digital archive.
○ Where is the information for the website drawn from?
The information is drawn from a number of sources (programmes, critical works, interviews with Alan Ayckbourn etc), predominantly held in the Digital Ayckbourn Archive (held by Simon Murgatroyd and Haydonning Ltd), the Ayckbourn Archive held at the University Of York and The Bob Watson Archive at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Where possible it has been consistently cross-checked for accuracy.
○ Who holds copyright on the website / can I reproduce material from the website?
The majority of material held on Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website is either © Haydonning Ltd, 2002 - 2022, all rights reserved or © Simon Murgatroyd, 2002 - 2022, all rights reserved, except where explicitly stated. Material from the website may not be reproduced except with explicit, written permission from the copyright holders. Further details can be found in the Copyright pages of the website.
○ How is it administered?
The website is generally updated on a daily basis. The aim is to announce news as it happens, whilst continually improving the site and adding new material to it. The site currently stands at more than 4,000 pages of material relating to Alan Ayckbourn and the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
○ Where can I find information on specific Alan Ayckbourn plays?
Click on the The Plays link at the top of the page to visit the The Plays section for in-depth information on the plays.
○ How do I find something specific on the website?
The quickest way is to visit the Index page where there is not only a breakdown of many of the subjects explored on the website but also a site-wide search engine.
○ Is the website part of the Stephen Joseph Theatre?
This is an independent web-site, which is endorsed by Alan Ayckbourn and administered by Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist and Media Administrator, Simon Murgatroyd. Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website is completely independent of the Alan Ayckbourn's home venue, the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
○ Why are some of the Plays sections 'supported by' or 'dedicated to'?
For a period of time - to help the website develop - it was possible to support individual play sections within the Plays section of this website. The support being for the relevant section on the website rather than the actual play. More recently, certain sections of the website have been dedicated to individuals in recognition of their work for the Stephen Joseph Theatre or association with this website. Further details can be found here.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the website via admin@alanayckbourn.net.