Background
Part of the inspiration for Improbable Fiction was reported to be a talk that Alan Ayckbourn once gave to a writers' circle, which he suspected was actually more of a social circle. The title was inspired by a quote from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:
"If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as improbable fiction." - Twelfth Night, Act III, scene 4
If the immediately preceding adult play, Private Fears in Public Places was notable for being the bleakest Ayckbourn play for many years, Improbable Fiction was notable for being the lightest, because in the few years previously, even the comedies had serious themes to them. It has been observed that this play has similarities with Ayckbourn's earlier family plays The Boy Who Fell Into a Book and, to a lesser extent, My Very Own Story. Whether there was an intentional adaptation of these plays is unclear, but this was repeated the following year with If I Were You (argued to be derived from The Jollies).
Whatever the reason for such a light play, it fitted in with the Stephen Joseph Theatre's 50th anniversary season, along with a revival of another Ayckbourn comedy, Time and Time Again.
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