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''Intimate Exchanges'' is a play by Alan Ayckbourn. Written between 1982 and 1983 it consists of eight major stories all originating from a single opening scene. As the play progresses, the characters make choices each of which causes the story to go in one of two directions, leading to one of 16 possible endings. The play was nominated for the 1984 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, and a 2006 revival was nominated for the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play on its transfer to the Brits Off Broadway festival in New York. In 1993, six of the eight major variations were made into the two films ''Smoking''/''No Smoking'' directed by Alain Resnais. ==Background== Ayckbourn wrote ''Intimate Exchanges'' between 1982 and 1983 to mark the 25th anniversary of his arrival in Scarborough. It may not have been written at all if most of his acting troupe had not decided to move on following a US tour. Ayckbourn was left with a summer season to fill and only two actors, Robin Herford and Lavinia Bertram. He decided to pursue a theory he had been mulling on for a few years: that the tiny, often careless choices we make in our lives can lead to vast consequences. The idea was to write a multi-ended play in which choices lead to other choices in an increasing proliferation. Ayckbourn started writing in early 1982 with the intention of performing all of the plays over the summer months of that year. It proved to be a far greater challenge than he expected and only three of the possible variations actually opened that summer, starting with the variation called "A Cricket Match". The remaining plays came together during Autumn and Winter, finishing in February 1983 with "A Pageant". In total, ''Intimate Exchanges'' includes 31 scenes, 16 hours of dialogue, and 10 characters, all performed by only two actors.〔(An In-Depth Background To Intimate Exchanges ), Simon Murgatroyd, alanayckbourn.net〕 Depending upon whether or not the character of Celia Teasdale decides to have a cigarette in the first five seconds of the play, several people might get divorced, married, start affairs, have children or die. In Easter of 1983, Robin Herford and Lavinia Bertram, performed all of the sixteen possible variations over the course of twelve days. In 1984 it opened in London and was nominated for two Olivier Awards: Comedy of the Year and Comedy Performance of the Year for Lavinia Bertram.〔(Olivier Winners 1984 )〕 Four of the variants were also recorded for BBC radio. Since then, the play has been produced only once more in its entirety.〔 It was revived between 2006 and 2007 in Scarborough starring Bill Champion and Claudia Elmhirst. This production transferred to New York in 2008 as part of the "Brits Off Broadway" festival. There, it broke box office records and was nominated for two 2008 Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play for Bill Champion.〔(Drama Desk Press Release ), 28 April 2008, "53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards Nominations Announced"〕 ''Intimate Exchanges'' is one of the few Ayckbourn plays to have been filmed. Alain Resnais made two French films in 1993, called ''Smoking''/''No Smoking'', to reflect Celia Teasdale's initial choice of whether or not to smoke a cigarette. Only twelve out the sixteen possible endings were included. 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「Intimate Exchanges」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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