Earth Angel

Alan Ayckbourn

Stephen Joseph Theatre production

Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

September 13-October 11, 2025; 2hrs 20 mins

(Also Old Laundry, Bowness-on-Windermere, November 4-8)

Iskandar Eaton (back to camera) and Russell Richardson share a tender moment in Earth Angel. All pics: Tony Bartholomew

In his 91st play Earth Angel – does this man never take a day off? - Alan Ayckbourn is seeking the answer to the question: what makes someone a good person?

Entangled in answering this possibly impossible query are the author’s observations on the downside of the technology is increasingly taking over our lives.

It sounds heavy-going. It’s not. There is much humour, as you might expect from Ayckbourn, within the more serious business of identifying the young man Daniel, who turns up unexpectedly on the day of the funeral of Gerald’s wife.

Gerald doesn’t recognise him and wonders where - or even if - they have met before. But he’s grateful for the offer of a shoulder to cry on and the prospect of the stranger cooking him a fry-up for breakfast. He even asks Daniel to stay the night on the promise of that breakfast - while an offer of help and company from over-fussy neighbour Norah is turned down.

Meanwhile another neighbour, Hugo, a computer nerd and online-addict, has no problem finding conspiracy theories on the net.

All of this sparks the interest of Gerald’s sister Maxine and her husband, Adrian, who see Daniel’s niceness as a bad thing - part of a plan to gain access to Gerald’s confidence and rob or harm him.

To give away any more would be to spoil Ayckbourn’s ingenious plot, which may seem outlandish but eventually makes perfect sense from an emotional point of view. There’s a twist that you won’t see coming...

I’m not sure Ayckbourn fully answers the question about what makes a good person, as the action descends into near farce, with a rather good police joke at the climax of the play. It really is a play you need to see, then discuss afterwards.

Ayckbourn the director - working as usual in the round - ensures the mix of comedy and seriousness never topples into ridiculousness, aided by a strong cast led by an excellent Russell Richardson as grieving widower Gerald and Iskandar Eaton as the mystery do-gooder.

Elizabeth Boag, Liza Goddard, Stuart Fox and Hayden Wood also have their moments as the worried relatives and neighbours.

Can’t wait until play 92.

More info and tickets here