Relatively Speaking

Renowned Ayckbourn associate returns to direct Oldham’s revival

Friday 20 April – Saturday 5 May 2018

An Oldham Coliseum Theatre Production
By Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Robin Herford
Designed by Michael Holt

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Press Night: Friday 20 April, 7.30pm
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This spring Oldham Coliseum Theatre presents a new production of Alan Ayckbourn’s first West End hit,
Relatively Speaking. The Coliseum’s production is directed by Robin Herford, who performed in the
1977 revival of the same play, directed by Ayckbourn at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

This comedy of misunderstanding involves two couples, one young and co-habiting and one older, married
and fraught. When inexperienced Greg finds a pair of strange slippers under the bed, he decides to follow
girlfriend, Ginny, thinking that she is visiting her parents. What follows is a hilarious combination of twists,
turns and confusion, plus a smattering of infidelity.

Relatively Speaking first opened in July 1965 as Meet My Father at the Library Theatre, Scarborough,
directed by Stephen Joseph. On 29 March 1967 it transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s
West End, where, under the new title of Relatively Speaking, it ran for more than 350 performances. In
1969 it became the first of Ayckbourn’s plays to be adapted for television.

Best known as the director of the phenomenally successful stage adaptation of The Woman in Black,
Robin Herford spent much of his early career working with Alan Ayckbourn at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
in Scarborough and has appeared in the original production of more Ayckbourn plays than any other actor.
He was appointed Associate Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1979 and was Artistic Director
from 1986 to 1988, whilst Ayckbourn was Company Director at the National Theatre.

The Coliseum’s Relatively Speaking features Crispin Letts, who has appeared in hit feature films Murder
on the Orient Express and Skyfall; Jo Mousley, who performed in the Coliseum’s Manchester Theatre
Award winning regional premier of The Father in summer 2017; Lianne Harvey, who won multiple awards
in 2017 for her role in feature film, Bikini Blue; and Matt Connor, who was last in Oldham for the
Coliseum’s autumn 2017 productions of Oh What A Lovely War and Up ‘N’ Under and has performed in
The Woman in Black on the West End and on national tour.

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Notes to Editor:

Relatively Speaking runs from Friday 20 April – Saturday 5 May 2018 at Oldham Coliseum Theatre.
Tickets can be booked on 0161 624 2829 or at www.coliseum.org.uk
Link to production page: http://www.coliseum.org.uk/plays/relatively-speaking/

For further press information, please contact Shelly Ramsdale on 0161 785 7012 or
shellyramsdale@coliseum.org.uk

Oldham Coliseum Theatre is a cultural and educational charity that works with over 150,000 individuals
per year.

The Coliseum has a rich history in Greater Manchester dating back to 1885. It provides a wide variety of
distinctive theatre performances and participatory activities for people from all communities in Oldham,
Greater Manchester and beyond. It creates eight original productions each year, of which up to half are
newly-commissioned work, which are presented at the Coliseum and on tour. Intrinsic to the town’s on-
going regeneration, the theatre works with its local communities and young people to develop creative
programmes to facilitate learning, engagement and community cohesion. The Coliseum is actively
engaged with Oldham Council and Arts Council England to deliver a new theatre in the town by 2020.

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Images:
A high-resolution JPEG of the artwork for Relatively Speaking is available to download from Dropbox via:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wjc31uo800ztlin/Relatively%20Speaking.jpg?dl=0

Rehearsal photographs will be available from Wednesday 11 April 2018.

Production photographs will be available from Friday 20 April 2018

Cast:

Matt Connor - Greg Lianne Harvey - Ginny Crispin Letts - Philip Jo Mousley - Sheila

Production Team:
Robin Herford – Director
Michael Holt – Designer
Stewart Bartles – Lighting Designer
Lorna Munden – Sound Designer