“Plays by Alan Ayckbourn have been attracting larger audiences in the regional theatres than those of Shakespeare.”

— Alan Ayckbourn

Press release by the Arts Council of Great Britain, November 2, 1983.
This is said to be the source of the common, but unsubstantiated, statement that Ayckbourn is the second most performed playwright after Shakespeare. http://biography.alanayckbourn.net/BiographyFAQPopularity.htm
Criticism

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Alan Ayckbourn 6

English playwright 1939

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“Plays by Alan Ayckbourn have been attracting larger audiences in the regional theatres than those of Shakespeare.”

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Alan Ayckbourn 6

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