Alan Ackybourn’s Confusions is series of five, short, interlinked one-act plays: Mother Figure, Drinking Companion, Between Mouthfuls, Gosforth’s Fete, and A Talk in the Park. Some of the characters appear in more than one play; others are only seen in one. Each play is vastly different - one is comedic (Gosforth’s Fete), another naturalistic (Drinking Companion), and yet another is stylized (Mother Figure). Each, however, deals with the common themes of loneliness and relationships. The characters and their conflicts are immediately recognizable and applicable to everyday lives, and each play leaves the reader, or viewer, questioning their own lives and relationships.
**Ideally the play should be performed by five actors with them playing the following roles:
Actor 1 (m): Terry; Waiter (both Drinking Companion & Between Mouthfuls); Stewart; Arthur Actor 2 (m): Harry; Martin; Vicar; Ernest Actor 3 (f): Lucy; Bernice; Mrs Pearce (both Between Mouthfuls & Gosforth’s Fete); Beryl Actor 4 (f): Rosemary; Paula; Polly; Milly; Doreen Actor 5 (m): Mr Pearce; Gosforth; Charles
Note: The acting roles listed in the Samuel French edition for the 1976 London production do not reflect the author’s intention for how the roles should be split between the five actors. -http://confusions.alanayckbourn.net/styled-4/index.html
Confusions guide sections
