How The Other Half Loves: Staging
One of the major challenges of staging How The Other Half Loves is its set-design. Both living rooms have to share the same space, but each has also be clearly defined and the conceit understood by the audience. While the play breaks conventions, its own conventions have to be understood very quickly by the audience for the play to work and not to leave the audience scratching its collective head.This is made more difficult by the fact How The Other Half Loves was conceived and written to be performed in-the-round. Without question - and certainly in the playwright's mind - it works best in-the-round as the playwright's own productions and The Old Vic's 2026 revival demonstrate. However, the majority of productions of the play begin with a serious disadvantage in that they are not in-the-round, which adds another layer of complexity to the issue of how to stage it successfully.
The importance of the stage space for this play is emphasised by Alan Ayckbourn in his book The Crafty Art Of Playmaking.
“In How The Other Half Loves the superimposed composite set - half the sofa and half the dining table belong to one family, half to another - contributes enormously to the storytelling and, incidentally, brings about fifty per cent of the laughs. [This play], of course, grew out of my experience of working in the round.
“Whilst How The Other Half Loves has transferred reasonably successfully to the proscenium…. Privately I believe [the play] works infinitely better in the round, where the floor is in full view of everyone. It is, after all, a play about floor space and where the round is concerned, the floor is the equivalent of the backdrop: the floor seen by everyone is the area where the designers can make their strongest scenic statement.”
Some of the solutions to this challenge can be found on this page. What should also be borne in mind is that the set plans stage directions published in the Samuel French edition of the play do not reflect in any way the playwright's intentions. When it was published, Alan's preference for in-the-round staging details were ignored and it (and the previous edition published by Evans) were based on the West End premiere, which Alan loathed. As a result, the stage directions were based on the stage manager's book and were neither written nor approved by Alan himself. They reflect only an interpretation of the play - as does the end-stage set drawings - and are not what Alan initially wrote and intended.
What Alan intended can be found with the world premiere production, directed by the author himself at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, in 1969. Long thought lost, the stage manager's sketches for the production came to light during 2026 (fig.1 & 2).
As can be seen for this in-the-round production, there are just two stage entrances - one used for the Foster's home and the other for the Phillips' home. The furniture is split between the two with only the sideboard sharing elements of both couples. The stage directions offer a little more insight…
“The lights come up on the main set to reveal two living rooms. Not a composite setting but with the two rooms contained and overlapping in the same area. Only the furnishings themselves, both in colour and style, indicate clearly which belongs to which room. Also, perhaps, a certain lighting emphasis from time to time.
The FOSTERS’ (FIONA and FRANK'S) is smart period reproduction - A settee, matching armchair and a small coffee table.
The PHILLIPS’ (TERESA and BOB'S) has identical items, but more modern trendy and badly looked after.
Common to both rooms, a sideboard. At one end of this the FOSTERS’ drinks are arranged. At the other, the PHILLIPS’ muddle.”
For Act I, scene ii, the set is largely unaltered save for the two armchairs being removed, the Fosters' table being move centre-stage and over a previously unseen table for the Phillips, thus creating the famed cruciform design with the swivelling chairs for the Featherstones to move back and forth between the two dinners.
The photograph of the original production (fig. 3) clearly shows the cruciform table layout and gives an impression of how the living rooms were divided as elements of both couples’ spaces can be seen in the image.
When the play transferred to London in 1970, it moved into a proscenium theatre and the staging had to be altered substantially with full use being made of the back of the stage with a complex series of alternating flats. The set was designed by Alan Tagg and apparently differed substantially from the play’s try-out at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester (designed by Frank Colavecchia). Alan has always had issues with this production, largely thanks to the actor Robert Morley and how he dominated the play and would regularly ad-lib his way through productions. However, he was also unhappy with the set and felt Tagg's use of flats was compromised and unsatisfactory being unnecessarily busy and too distracting
The plan (fig. 4) is from the second scene with the dining table in place. During the London run, the dining table was only present during the second scene with coffee tables replacing it during the rest of the play. The set and photo (fig. 4 & 5) illustrate how the stage was divided to show both living rooms simultaneously. Realistically, this set is far too busy for the play and that the only alteration necessary for any production between the first two scenes is the addition of the dining table.
When the play opened on Broadway, the production was not allowed to use the same set as the London production as apparently Alan Tagg had patented his design with regard to the alternating flats. As a result, the set (designed by David Mitchell) is notably different again (fig.4). Alan noted it was an improvement on Tagg's design and whilst still no perfect, he did prefer it and the fact it wasn't quite so busy.
With the play having been Americanised for New York audiences, it is no surprise that the set would alter. The most substantive difference, as can be seen from the plan (fig.4) is the stage contains the entire set. The dining table is not just present in the second scene but is integrated into the permanent set. Judging from the design, it was simpler than the London version and perhaps a slightly better reflection of the original intent for the play.
The most accurate reflection in the West End of the author's intentions only arrived in 2026 (57 years after the play's world premiere!) when The Old Vic staged the production in-the-round (and a literal round at that). Heavily influenced by the original production, the set was kept simple and as authentic to Alan Ayckbourn's original ideas a possible. The one thing the Director Phillip Breen has as an advantaged was four stage entrances: one being the entrance to the Fosters' home with the stage exit opposite leading further into the house and another being the Phillips' entrance again with an exit leading to the unseen kitchen opposite.
As the success and positive reaction to this production demonstrated, the play really does work best in-the-round and also when it is at its most simple.
“In How The Other Half Loves the superimposed composite set - half the sofa and half the dining table belong to one family, half to another - contributes enormously to the storytelling and, incidentally, brings about fifty per cent of the laughs. [This play], of course, grew out of my experience of working in the round.
“Whilst How The Other Half Loves has transferred reasonably successfully to the proscenium…. Privately I believe [the play] works infinitely better in the round, where the floor is in full view of everyone. It is, after all, a play about floor space and where the round is concerned, the floor is the equivalent of the backdrop: the floor seen by everyone is the area where the designers can make their strongest scenic statement.”
Some of the solutions to this challenge can be found on this page. What should also be borne in mind is that the set plans stage directions published in the Samuel French edition of the play do not reflect in any way the playwright's intentions. When it was published, Alan's preference for in-the-round staging details were ignored and it (and the previous edition published by Evans) were based on the West End premiere, which Alan loathed. As a result, the stage directions were based on the stage manager's book and were neither written nor approved by Alan himself. They reflect only an interpretation of the play - as does the end-stage set drawings - and are not what Alan initially wrote and intended.
What Alan intended can be found with the world premiere production, directed by the author himself at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, in 1969. Long thought lost, the stage manager's sketches for the production came to light during 2026 (fig.1 & 2).
As can be seen for this in-the-round production, there are just two stage entrances - one used for the Foster's home and the other for the Phillips' home. The furniture is split between the two with only the sideboard sharing elements of both couples. The stage directions offer a little more insight…
“The lights come up on the main set to reveal two living rooms. Not a composite setting but with the two rooms contained and overlapping in the same area. Only the furnishings themselves, both in colour and style, indicate clearly which belongs to which room. Also, perhaps, a certain lighting emphasis from time to time.
The FOSTERS’ (FIONA and FRANK'S) is smart period reproduction - A settee, matching armchair and a small coffee table.
The PHILLIPS’ (TERESA and BOB'S) has identical items, but more modern trendy and badly looked after.
Common to both rooms, a sideboard. At one end of this the FOSTERS’ drinks are arranged. At the other, the PHILLIPS’ muddle.”
For Act I, scene ii, the set is largely unaltered save for the two armchairs being removed, the Fosters' table being move centre-stage and over a previously unseen table for the Phillips, thus creating the famed cruciform design with the swivelling chairs for the Featherstones to move back and forth between the two dinners.
The photograph of the original production (fig. 3) clearly shows the cruciform table layout and gives an impression of how the living rooms were divided as elements of both couples’ spaces can be seen in the image.
When the play transferred to London in 1970, it moved into a proscenium theatre and the staging had to be altered substantially with full use being made of the back of the stage with a complex series of alternating flats. The set was designed by Alan Tagg and apparently differed substantially from the play’s try-out at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester (designed by Frank Colavecchia). Alan has always had issues with this production, largely thanks to the actor Robert Morley and how he dominated the play and would regularly ad-lib his way through productions. However, he was also unhappy with the set and felt Tagg's use of flats was compromised and unsatisfactory being unnecessarily busy and too distracting
The plan (fig. 4) is from the second scene with the dining table in place. During the London run, the dining table was only present during the second scene with coffee tables replacing it during the rest of the play. The set and photo (fig. 4 & 5) illustrate how the stage was divided to show both living rooms simultaneously. Realistically, this set is far too busy for the play and that the only alteration necessary for any production between the first two scenes is the addition of the dining table.
When the play opened on Broadway, the production was not allowed to use the same set as the London production as apparently Alan Tagg had patented his design with regard to the alternating flats. As a result, the set (designed by David Mitchell) is notably different again (fig.4). Alan noted it was an improvement on Tagg's design and whilst still no perfect, he did prefer it and the fact it wasn't quite so busy.
With the play having been Americanised for New York audiences, it is no surprise that the set would alter. The most substantive difference, as can be seen from the plan (fig.4) is the stage contains the entire set. The dining table is not just present in the second scene but is integrated into the permanent set. Judging from the design, it was simpler than the London version and perhaps a slightly better reflection of the original intent for the play.
The most accurate reflection in the West End of the author's intentions only arrived in 2026 (57 years after the play's world premiere!) when The Old Vic staged the production in-the-round (and a literal round at that). Heavily influenced by the original production, the set was kept simple and as authentic to Alan Ayckbourn's original ideas a possible. The one thing the Director Phillip Breen has as an advantaged was four stage entrances: one being the entrance to the Fosters' home with the stage exit opposite leading further into the house and another being the Phillips' entrance again with an exit leading to the unseen kitchen opposite.
As the success and positive reaction to this production demonstrated, the play really does work best in-the-round and also when it is at its most simple.
1) The stage manager's sketch for the world premiere production of How The Other Half Loves for Act I, scene I and Act II at theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, in 1969 (© Haydonning Ltd)
2) The plan for the dinner scene from Act I Scene ii as seen in the original production. Note how little the set is changed from the previous scene (© Haydonning Ltd)
3) The dinner scene from Act I Scene ii as seen in the original production at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, in 1969 (© Haydonning Ltd)
4) A floor-plan for Act I scene ii of How The Other Half Loves as designed by Alan Tagg for the London premiere in 1970 (© Alan Tagg).
5) An image of the set of the London premiere production of How The Other Half Loves in 1970. Note the alternating flats at the rear, designed by Alan Tagg, and which Alan Ayckbourn believes were not a good design decision, overly complicating the set and distracting to the play (© TBC)
6) A floor-plan for the Broadway premiere of How The Other Half Loves in 1971, designed by David Mitchell (© Mitchell).
7) A photograph of the set from Phillip Breen's 2026 revival of How The Other Half Loves at The Old Vic. This production marked the first time the play had been directed in-the-round - as intended by the playwright - in the West End (© Manuel Harlan)
Article by Simon Murgatroyd. Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without permission of the copyright holder.