A Word from Our Sponsor

A Word from Our Sponsor is a 1995 musical by Alan Ayckbourn and John Pattison. It was the final Ayckbourn play to be premièred at the Stephen Joseph Theatre's old Westwood site. It is about a vicar, who is tempted by the devil (Valda/Valder) offering a sponsorship deal for dubious return favours.

This play was one of Ayckbourn's less successful works, but the production was marred most of all by the death of a member of the cast, Sophie Winter, who collapsed the afternoon before the final Scarborough performance and died the day. As a respected member of the company, a memorial was made to her in the theatre, and a trust in her name was set up to sponsor new plays at the Stephen Joseph Theatre between 1996 and 2008.

External links

• A Word from Our Sponsor on official Ayckbourn site