Absurd Person Singular

Three ill-matched couples. Three different kitchens. Three horrendous Christmasses.

Early 1970s suburbia: the ambitious Sydney Hopcroft is hoping to secure backing for his new business from two guests he’s invited to his festive gathering: architect Geoffrey Jackson and old-school banker Ronald Brewster-Wright. But the pressure of the situation proves a little too much for Sydney’s put-upon wife, Jane, as she attempts to keep the party sailing along upon a sea of gin and shiny formica worktops.

One year later, and it’s the turn of serial philanderer Geoffrey and his clinically depressed wife, Eva, to play host. Before their guests arrive, Geoffrey decides the time is right to tell Eva that their marriage is over. Already befuddled with pills, Eva believes there’s only one way out - but why can’t any of the merry visitors see what she’s really trying to do?

A further year passes and it’s Christmas chez Ronald and his caustic, hard-drinking wife, Marion. Ronald’s bank is in trouble, so there’s not much Christmas cheer. And Marion’s locked herself in the bedroom with the booze. And Geoffrey’s career has taken a nosedive. So when the Hopcrofts drop in, Sydney suddenly finds himself in a position to dominate proceedings . . .

An hilarious, wickedly observant comic masterpiece about ladder-climbing (social and otherwise) and power, Absurd Person Singular is one of the greatest plays of the last fifty years, by one of Britain’s - and PFT’s - most popular playwrights.