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Simon Murgatroyd is Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist and the administrator and founder of the playwright's official
website. He is
considered an expert on Alan Ayckbourn and his plays. He is entirely
responsible for the website; from writing material to compiling and
researching information as well as maintaining the website.
.
My interest in Alan Ayckbourn's plays began in
1987, when I saw the original production of Henceforward… at the
Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough. In essence, that one play
is all to blame!
After graduating from London College Of Dance with a BA(hons) in Dance and
Theatre in 1992, I pursued a career as journalist from 1993 to 1999,
employed as the arts and features writer for the Scarborough Evening News.
In 1995, I became the lead theatre critic at the newspaper and launched a
weekly arts supplement.
During that period I was reviewing the world
premieres of Alan’s plays and writing numerous features on both Alan
and the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round. This work included extensive coverage of the
company's move to its present
home, the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
As a journalist, one of my career
high-points was breaking the news that Alan and Andrew Lloyd-Webber's
musical By Jeeves was to open the new theatre.
In 1999, I left the Evening News to study for an MA in Theatre And
Contemporary Practice specialising in the fantasy influences in Alan
Ayckbourn's plays. At the same time, I
was employed by the Stephen Joseph Theatre. A year later, Alan Ayckbourn
asked me to become the co-ordinator of the Ayckbourn And The
Round event; a week with Alan and his company which attracted participants from around the world.
In 2001, having completed my MA, I created this website (originally The Alan
Ayckbourn Resource Guide, later The Alan Ayckbourn Guide and now just Alan
Ayckbourn's Official Website), I continued to co-ordinate Ayckbourn And The
Round, became the Deputy Box Office Manager at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
and began occasional freelance lecturing on Alan Ayckbourn.
In 2004, the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s Archivist Bob Watson tragically died.
Bob was passionate about his voluntary work and I felt this work should not
be lost and I offered to take on his job voluntarily. In 2005, this position
was made permanent and I took on the role of Stephen Joseph Theatre
Archivist full-time in conjunction with my role as administrator for this website.
In 2009, as a result of Alan stepping down as the theatre's Artistic
Director, my position was altered to Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist And
Website Administrator, although I do still maintain The Bob Watson Archive
for the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
Since 2011, the majority of my work is for
Alan Ayckbourn with a wide remit from working on this website to dealing
with general and professional enquiries about Alan Ayckbourn, writing
original commissions about the playwright and the plays, organising
Ayckbourn-related events and maintaining the Digital Ayckbourn Archive, the single
largest digital resource relating to Alan Ayckbourn. |