The play Henceforward... is the first comedy in which Alan Ayckbourn includes elements of science fiction. It concerns Jerome, a composer, who develops a plan to persuade his estranged wife Corinna that his home life is sufficiently stable for her to allow their daughter to stay with him. The plan involves both an actress and a gynoid (the female equivalent of an android).
Henceforward... was Ayckbourn's thirty-fourth full-length play. It was first performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 1987. It received its West End premiere at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand, London in October 1988. The cast in Scarborough and London included Ian McKellen (who was knighted in 1990, becoming Sir Ian McKellen) as Jerome, Jane Asher as Corinna, Emma Chambers as Geain aged 13, Serena Evans as Zoe, Robin Herford as Lupus, Suzy Newman as Rita, and Michael Simkins as Mervyn. This production won the 1989 Best Comedy category at the Evening Standard Awards for London theatre.
Characters
Jerome, a composer
Corinna, his wife
Geain, their daughter
Aged 13
Aged 9 (video only) Lupus, his friend (video only) NAN 300F, an android Zoe, an actress Mervyn, a civil servant Mary Hope-Fitch, an escort (video only) Rita, a gang leader (video only)
NAN 300F is played in act 1 by the actress who plays Corinna in act 2, and in act 2 by the actress who plays Zoe in act 1.
Plot details
The play is in two acts, the first of which has two scenes. It is set in London, England, in the future but "sometime quite soon". It is a bleak future where law and order has broken down in at least some parts of the city, and social interaction is limited by the automation of many shops and services. Composer Jerome has been estranged from his wife Corinna (a bank manager) for four years. Their 13-year-old daughter, Geain (pronounced Jane) lives with her mother. Jerome has been unable to compose music since they left and is convinced he needs Geain back with him to be his inspiration.
Act 1
The action takes place in Jerome's very untidy and neglected flat. Before the play begins, Jerome has arranged a meeting with wife Corinna and Mervyn Bickerdyke from the Department of Child Wellbeing, to convince them that it will be appropriate for Geain to stay with him for long visits. Geain is also due to come to the meeting. To help to convince them, Jerome plans to hire an actress, Zoe Mill, from an escort agency, to pose as his fiancée. The first act takes place one week before the meeting as he interviews Zoe for the job. Before she arrives, Jerome activates his NAN 300F – a female android (or gynoid) whom he calls Nan. He treats Nan, who was originally designed to look after children, almost like a pet. Much of the play's humour originates from her idiosyncrasies as she collides with the furniture, blurts out unexpected remarks, and performs her tasks incompetently – such as serving a drink with the tumbler upside down.
Zoe's arrival establishes the hostile nature of the neighbourhood, as she has been mugged by a local gang (the "Daughters of Darkness") – led by Rita. Most of the first scene of Act 1 involves the explanation of Jerome's composing, his writer's block, his need for Geain's return, his plan to act out a stable home life with Zoe, and the breakdown in law and order. Jerome describes how he writes his music by sampling real life sounds and manipulating them. Several times he plays back dialogue which has taken place on stage or in rooms off-stage. He explains that he wants to write a piece which encapsulates the concept of love – but he has been searching for four years for the right sound to sample. The action on stage is interrupted by several video sequences involving comings and goings at the front door, film of Geain when she was 9 years old, and video answerphone messages from Jerome's friend Lupus and from Mervyn. Rita, Lupus and the younger Geain only ever appear on video, as does Mary Hope-Fitch from the agency which supplied Zoe.