Taking Steps, first staged in 1979, is considered Alan Ayckbourn’s only classic farce. Set over one chaotic night and morning in a crumbling house and former brothel, the play is famous for its ingenious staging: all three floors of the building are represented on a single level, with actors miming the stairs, creating constant comic confusion.

The hopelessly tongue-tied solicitor Tristram is sent to oversee the sale of a Victorian house - supposedly haunted by the ghost of an ex-brothel „employee” - to hard-drinking businessman Roland, who is renting it from a shady builder. Meanwhile, Roland’s wife Elizabeth, a frustrated former dancer, is on the brink of leaving him, aided by her well-meaning brother Mark and his whimsical fiancée Kitty. As misunderstandings multiply across the three floors of the house, the night descends into a whirlwind of mistaken identities, „ghostly manifestations”, and perfectly timed physical comedy, culminating in a brilliantly absurd climax.

„A farce of riotous delight.“ – Evening News

„Superbly funny… hilarious.“ – The Guardian

„An ingenious comedy.”  – The Times