Neighbourhood Watch is Alan Ayckbourn's 75th play and was commissioned by the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in 2010. Alan began writing the play in October 2010 and, having completed and then entirely rewritten the first act, finished the play during the first week of November 2010.

When originally commissioned, Alan Ayckbourn has noted he was asked to write more of an event play to make the 75th play anniversary, but with the implication in 2010 that major cuts in arts funding in the UK were looming, Alan apparently approached the Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Chris Monks, to suggest a play on a slightly smaller scale.

The play features a cast of eight, the decision for this due to the play being commissioned to go into repertory with Dear Uncle, Alan's adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, with both plays sharing the same company of eight actors.

Neighbourhood Watch opened at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on 8 September 2011 with the press night on 13 September before going on a short tour of in-the-round venues in October 2011 followed by a more extensive end-stage tour from the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, in January 2012.

On 12 July 2011, the Stephen Joseph Theatre Artistic Director Chris Monks announced in an interview with the BBC that Neighbourhood Watch would also tour to New York, where it would be the third of Alan Ayckbourn's play to receive its American premiere at the Brits Off Broadway festival at the 59E59 Theaters (and the fourth Ayckbourn play to be presented by Alan at the festival).

Neighbourhood Watch also proved to be an unintentionally prescient play with its themes of the apparent breakdown of law and order in the UK. In August 2011 - during rehearsals for the play - four days of rioting hit many of the country's major cities, which was picked up by the media in relation to the theme of Neighbourhood Watch; although Alan was quick to point out it would be disingenuous to suggest the play was in any way inspired or influenced by real events given it was written nine months before the riots took place.

Neighbourhood Watch's press night at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on 13 September was received by uniformly excellent reviews. Even the one dissenting voice, Sam Marlowe of The Times, largely praised the production (The Times lead critic Libby Purves would later praise the play when it reached London). The prescience of Alan's subject was generally noted alongside the excellence of his acting company with several noting the play marked a return to some of Alan's blackest comedy.

Following a short in-the-round tour, Neighbourhood Watch transferred to the 59E59 Theaters, New York, on 30 November 2011 as part of the Brits Off Broadway festival, running until 1 January. On 24 November 2011, it was announced the tour would conclude with a month long residency at the Tricycle Theatre in London. Significantly, this marked the first time since Private Fears In Public Places in 2005 that the new Alan Ayckbourn play had transferred to London. Whilst in London, the world premiere production reached its 200th production on 25 April 2012; a rarity in that figure was reached with the same company which launched the play eight months earlier.

Copyright: Simon Murgatroyd 2012