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''Damsels in Distress'' is a trilogy of plays written in 2001 by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The three plays, ''GamePlan'', ''FlatSpin'' and ''RolePlay'', were originally performed as a set by the Stephen Joseph Theatre Company (SJT). The plays were written to be performed by the same seven actors using the same set. Although the plays loosely shared some common themes, the three stories were independent of each other and unconnected. This trilogy is considered Alan Ayckbourn's first major success of the 21st century. It also began a dispute between Ayckbourn and the West End. == Background == ''Damsels in Distress'' began as an experiment to revive the Stephen Joseph Theatre's repertory system. Throughout the theatre's time at its first two venues, plays had largely been staged on a repertory basis, with plays being chosen and written around the actors available. After the move to the theatre's current venue in 1996, however, the system largely ended (apart from the ''10×10'' season in 1998), with the theatre relying more on actors hired for single roles. Partly because of this, and partly because of the ongoing financial pressure on the theatre, in 2001 Ayckbourn chose to write a set of plays which could be performed by the same company of seven actors available at the time. This included three long-standing SJT performers (Robert Austin, Jacqueline King and Bill Champion), two recent additions (Alison Pargeter and Saskia Butler) and two newcomers (Beth Tuckey and Tim Faraday).〔(Preface to ''Damsels in Distress'' ), Alan Ayckbourn, London: Faber & Faber, ISBN 0-571-21648-X〕〔(''Damsels in Distress'' History on official Ayckbourn site )〕〔Allen, Paul (2004) ''A Pocket Guide to Alan Ayckbourn's Plays'', London: Faber & Faber, ISBN 0-571-21492-4〕 It was originally planned for ''Damsels in Distress'' to be two plays, ''GamePlan'' and ''FlatSpin''. Indeed, this remained the intention when ''GamePlan'' was premiered in May.〔(Programme notes from ''GamePlan'' held on official Ayckbourn site )〕 It was only during rehearsals for ''FlatSpin'' when Ayckbourn considered the "company" effect to take hold, and the idea for a third play started to emerge.〔 After getting agreement from the cast to take on a third play, it was written in the week after ''FlatSpin'' began performances, and the summer programme was rescheduled to include this play, ''RolePlay'', late in the season.〔 As well as sharing the same seven actors, the trilogy was also written to use the same set: a flat in the London Docklands, where Ayckbourn himself owns a flat.〔 Beyond that, there was no intentional link between the plays, and the only reason the name ''Damsels in Distress'' was chosen was that the plays all happened to include a female character in some sort of trouble.〔 However, there were nonetheless a number of common themes that arose from the plays' settings: flats owned by well-to-do Londoners who know little of who their neighbours are or what they do; and seedy vices left behind from London's old East End coming back to haunt them.〔 The plays also shared themes common to most Ayckbourn plays. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Damsels in Distress (plays)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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