| Henceforward... | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Programme from world première | |||
| Written by | Alan Ayckbourn | ||
| Characters | Jerome Corinna Geain Lupus NAN 300F Zoe Mervyn Mary Hope-Fitch Rita | ||
| Date premiered | 21 May 1987 | ||
| Place premiered | Stephen Joseph Theatre (Westwood site), Scarborough | ||
| Original language | English | ||
| Genre | Comedy Science Fiction | ||
| Setting | A London apartment, in the near future. | ||
| Official site | |||
| Ayckbourn chronology | |||
| |||
The play Henceforward... is the first comedy in which Alan Ayckbourn includes elements of science fiction. It concerns Jerome, a composer, who develops a plan to persuade his estranged wife Corinna that his home life is sufficiently stable for her to allow their daughter to stay with him. The plan involves both an actress and a gynoid (the female equivalent of an android).
Henceforward... was Ayckbourn's thirty-fourth full-length play. It was first performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 1987. It received its West End premiere at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand, London in October 1988. The cast in Scarborough and London included Ian McKellen (who was knighted in 1990, becoming Sir Ian McKellen) as Jerome, Jane Asher as Corinna, Emma Chambers as Geain aged 13, Serena Evans as Zoe, Robin Herford as Lupus, Suzy Newman as Rita, and Michael Simkins as Mervyn.[1][2] This production won the 1989 Best Comedy category at the Evening Standard Awards for London theatre.
- ^ Pit (21 December 1988). "Legitimate: SHOWS ABROAD – Henceforward...". Variety. 333 (9): 52.
- ^ Paul Chand (1 December 1988). "Play Reviews: Man and machine in disharmony". The Stage and Television Today (5616): 14.