Comic Potential (play)
Encyclopedia
Comic Potential by Alan Ayckbourn
is a romantic sci-fi comedy. It is set in a TV studio in the foreseeable future, when low-cost androids (known as "actoids") have largely replaced actors.
This play originated from the idea that the ability to laugh and the ability to fall in love are both characteristics that differentiate human
s from androids - both illogical from an objective viewpoint - raising the question as to whether either of the actions in an android would be considered a malfunction. The comedy also explores the Pygmalion
syndrome and competing desires for autonomy and certainty.
. The leading-role android makes a series of mistakes. Supporting role android JC-F31-333, spots his lapses and laughs.
Later on, while Adam is watching old slapstick comedy, JC-F31-333 laughs again. She is afraid that the sense of humour is a production fault. Adam sees it as an advantage. He nicknames his favourite android Jacie and persuades Chandler that they should make a comedy for her.
Regional TV director Carla Pepperbloom threatens to ruin the project. She is jealous of Adam's sympathy for talented Jacie and orders the android's memory wiped. Adam panics and decides to kidnap
Jacie. While on the escape, Adam and Jacie fall in love.
in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1998 and received its West End premiere
at the Lyric Theatre
, Shaftesbury Avenue in October 1999. Chandler Tate was played by David Soul
, and Jacie by Janie Dee
, who had created the role in Scarborough. Janie's performance won her the Best Actress category of the London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
(1999), the Evening Standard Awards
(1999) and the Laurence Olivier Awards
(2000).
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
is a romantic sci-fi comedy. It is set in a TV studio in the foreseeable future, when low-cost androids (known as "actoids") have largely replaced actors.
Background
The play was Ayckbourn's second exploration into science fiction, the first being Henceforward...Henceforward...
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...
This play originated from the idea that the ability to laugh and the ability to fall in love are both characteristics that differentiate human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s from androids - both illogical from an objective viewpoint - raising the question as to whether either of the actions in an android would be considered a malfunction. The comedy also explores the Pygmalion
Pygmalion (mythology)
Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.-In Ovid:In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a...
syndrome and competing desires for autonomy and certainty.
Plot Summary
Idealistic young writer Adam Trainsmith meets Chandler Tate, a former director of classic comedies, who makes a living by directing a never-ending soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. The leading-role android makes a series of mistakes. Supporting role android JC-F31-333, spots his lapses and laughs.
Later on, while Adam is watching old slapstick comedy, JC-F31-333 laughs again. She is afraid that the sense of humour is a production fault. Adam sees it as an advantage. He nicknames his favourite android Jacie and persuades Chandler that they should make a comedy for her.
Regional TV director Carla Pepperbloom threatens to ruin the project. She is jealous of Adam's sympathy for talented Jacie and orders the android's memory wiped. Adam panics and decides to kidnap
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
Jacie. While on the escape, Adam and Jacie fall in love.
Productions
Comic Potential is Ayckbourn's fifty-third full-length play. It was first performed at the Stephen Joseph TheatreStephen Joseph Theatre
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain....
in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1998 and received its West End premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
, Shaftesbury Avenue in October 1999. Chandler Tate was played by David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
, and Jacie by Janie Dee
Janie Dee
Janie Dee is an English actress and singer.She is married to the actor Rupert Wickham.-Theatre:Dee is presently part of the Globe Theatre 2011 season playing The Countess of Roussillion in Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well" and in October she goes to Nottingham Playhouse to play Amanda in ...
, who had created the role in Scarborough. Janie's performance won her the Best Actress category of the London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called Drama Theatre Awards prior to 1989, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements...
(1999), the Evening Standard Awards
Evening Standard Awards
The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
(1999) and the Laurence Olivier Awards
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
(2000).
Awards and nominations
- TonyTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play (nominated) - Tony Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play (nominated)
- Laurence Olivier AwardLaurence Olivier AwardsThe Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
for Best Comedy (nominated)