Ayckbourns Short Plays and Themes of Isolation and Loneliness :: Ayckbourn Essays

Ayckbourns Short Plays and Themes of Isolation and LonelinessIsolation and loneliness are common themes in three of Ayckbournsshort plays. It appears, in varying degrees within MF, DC and TP butalways is a problem/theme inside each play. MF starts off with on thefirst page with a strong image of Lucy being isolated from the worldoutside., she lifts the receiver then replaces it immediately andthe door chimes again. Lucy ignores these. Lucy is isolating herselffrom people at the door and anybody trying to name her, we discover inthe next play why she ignores the phone but the door must just be away of keeping every(prenominal) her outside troubles and upsets away. I.e. Harryher husband who has abandoned her and left her on her own with themultiple children. An adult in a home with no other adults to talk towhitethorn touch very alone intellectually speaking. With nobody around todiscuss adult issues e.g. the reason why she is so isolated and whyHarry has left her. This ties in with the loneliness of Harry in DC.Here Harry is isolated from females in general, he is away from hiswife, but he is miles apart from the girls hes trying to impress. Youcan see, particularly with the arrival of Paula that neither of thegirls find him remotely interesting or amusing, on page37 Bernicesays, Oh my God, I thought wed never get rid of him just before the reduplicate quickly exit the restaurant. Also Harry turns to attempting tohave an affair, probably affairs observing how he behaves, either fromobsession and lust-or he truly feels so outside from Lucy he cannotsort out any marital problems. Harry and Lucy are a married couplewith children and commitments to each other, but both are lonely, andfeel remote from the other. They deal with it in different waysthough-Harry attempts to cure loneliness with brief sexual companions,while Lucy just cuts herself off from everyone or at least tries to.Lucys display of role reversal with Terry and Rose shows how distantfrom the adul t community she appears to be becoming. She turns thepair into squabbling kids, and sends them on their way. When it wasthey who came to help her The waiter in BM shares a similar problem,he must be friendly and warm to everyone while keeping a respectableisolated stance from their affairs. Meaning in his everyday workingcapacity he is lonely and having to present a distance between himselfand his customers. This is impressed every time the waiter wanders