Absent-minded Ayckbourn at The Grand

From the producers of Entertaining Mr Sloane, this Ayckbourn classic is sure to match that production’s success.

We join the cast in the summer of 1974, and a tea party soon to descend into chaos...

Wealthy, unfulfilled housewife Diana arranges a gathering of old friends to cheer up bereaved Colin, whose fiancée drowned two months earlier.

Paul, her bullying, self-absorbed husband, has recently had a dalliance with Evelyn, the glamorous wife of his friend and incompetent business associate, John. The party is completed by long-suffering Marge, who has left Gordon, her hypochondriac spouse, ailing at home.

Preparations for the party spark tensions and open old wounds.

Acerbic and painfully funny, Absent Friends explores friendship, marriage and what it ultimately means to be happy. In one of his finest plays, Ayckbourn’s craftsmanship and acute social observation have never been sharper or more biting.

Directed by Michael Cabot, Absent Friends is at the Grand Theatre from tomorrow night until Saturday May 9.

Tickets from £13.50, buy 1 Get 1 free on top price tickets for opening night, concessions available. Call Box Office on 01253 74 33 39 or visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk