Henceforward...

Henceforward...
Programme from world première
Written by	Alan Ayckbourn
Characters	Jerome Corinna Geain Lupus NAN 300F Zoe Mervyn Mary Hope-Fitch Rita
Date premiered	21 May 1987
Place premiered	Stephen Joseph Theatre (Westwood site), Scarborough
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy Science Fiction
Setting	A London apartment, in the near future.
Official site
Ayckbourn chronology
A Small Family Business (1987) Man of the Moment (1988)

The play Henceforward... is the first comedy in which Alan Ayckbourn includes elements of science fiction. It concerns Jerome, a composer, who develops a plan to persuade his estranged wife Corinna that his home life is sufficiently stable for her to allow their daughter to stay with him. The plan involves both an actress and a gynoid (the female equivalent of an android).

Henceforward... was Ayckbourn's thirty-fourth full-length play. It was first performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 1987. It received its West End premiere at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in October 1988 where Jerome was played by Ian McKellen, (who was knighted in 1990, becoming Sir Ian McKellen). Corinna was played by Jane Asher. This production won the 1989 Best Comedy category at the Evening Standard Awards for London theatre.

NAN 300F is played in act 1 by the actress who plays Corinna in act 2, and in act 2 by the actress who plays Zoe in act 1.

The play is in two acts, the first of which has two scenes. It is set in London, England, in the future but "sometime quite soon". It is a bleak future where law and order has broken down in at least some parts of the city, and social interaction is limited by the automation of many shops and services. Composer Jerome has been estranged from his wife Corinna (a bank manager) for four years. Their 13-year-old daughter, Geain (pronounced Jane) lives with her mother. Jerome has been unable to compose music since they left and is convinced he needs Geain back with him to be his inspiration.

The action takes place in Jerome's very untidy and neglected flat. Before the play begins, Jerome has arranged a meeting with wife Corinna and Mervyn Bickerdyke from the Department of Child Wellbeing, to convince them that it will be appropriate for Geain to stay with him for long visits. Geain is also due to come to the meeting. To help to convince them, Jerome plans to hire an actress, Zoe Mill, from an escort agency, to pose as his fiancée. The first act takes place one week before the meeting as he interviews Zoe for the job. Before she arrives, Jerome activates his NAN 300F – a female android (or gynoid) whom he calls Nan. He treats Nan, who was originally designed to look after children, almost like a pet. Much of the play's humour originates from her idiosyncrasies as she collides with the furniture, blurts out unexpected remarks, and performs her tasks incompetently – such as serving a drink with the tumbler upside down.