Roleplay - Alan Ayckbourn

The trilogy comprises FlatSpin, GamePlan and RolePlay and was first seen at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough and later at the Duchess Theatre, London. Each is self contained, the common theme linking them is that the setting is the same London Docklands apartment and all three concern young women in various states of distress. Justin and Julie-Ann, hopelessly mismatched in love, are about to introduce their respective parents to each other over dinner - Justin's upper-crust alcoholic ma from Surrey and Julie-Ann's bigoted Yorkshire father and prim mother. Into this doomed scenario drops, literally, via the balcony upstairs and the river, Paige Petite, a former lap-dancer with suicidal tendencies and her thick, gun-toting minder who is employed by her violent husband. They proceed to wreak havoc on the meticulously planned evening but the brilliantly orchestrated mayhem is tempered by subtle insights into family relationships and class distinctions.