Alys, Always: A superbly disquieting psychological thriller

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They won’t miss them,” she says. “Take them, for heaven’s sake. Alys would have hated those flowers to just sit there in a dark room, not being looked at. Honestly, it’s fine, no one minds. Take them.” Themes crying out to be explored are simply touched on and abandoned. The fact that Frances fabricates Alys’s last words when relaying the death to the Kyte family – a fact unearthed by Teddy – raises interesting questions about truth as a categorical imperative and the usefulness of fictions, but it goes nowhere. That the play isn’t really saying much is emphasised by the short essays in the accompanying programme. Rhiannon Lucy Coslett’s reproduced New Statesman article about gentrification and fellow Statesman scribe Helen Lewis’s critique of the demographic make-up of broadsheet journalism make for interesting and important reading, but feel entirely orthogonal to the play’s content. Wonderfully observed… Lane has her landscape forensically mapped. This is a gripping, psychologically complex achievement, whose greatest success is the lingering sense of unease.” Polly looks up, her eyes blurring, and asks in a burst, “Can you tell us what she said? We know what you told the police, but . . . did she sound like herself?”

It's beautifully written. It's compelling. I looked forward to the reading time I could steal from a busy day, and was more irritable than usual when my family interrupted me. Unfortunately, this play joins the also-missable ranks. Here's another predictable (and sometimes far-fetched) drama set amongst the glitterati of London's literati - the people who write the books and those whose career it is to review them. Frances toils on the (surprisingly well-staffed) books desk of a Sunday newspaper called The Questioner as a lowly sub-editor (and general dogsbody) to the literary editor Charlotte. Alice Croot was totally believable as the slightly narcissistic, heartbroken daughter, turning in another fine performance in her third production for the Barn.

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All my personality has long since gone from this room. The rosettes and posters and framed class photographs, the joke books and sets of C. S. Lewis and Laura Ingalls Wilder, the cushion cover I cross-stitched when I was nine: so many dust traps, all got rid of. The bottom drawer in the little chest contains my A-level and degree certificates, my stamp collection, and a shoebox of old snapshots, and that’s really all that is left of me in the house.

However, none of this is revelatory, and Coxon fails to offer anything new or insightful, or even particularly funny, about today’s societal and cultural malaise. When Polly tells Frances about the fight she overheard between her parents, neither woman is sure what Alys meant by her words: “And you can change the dedication while you’re at it…It’s not a tribute, it’s an insult.” What did you first suspect upon reading Polly’s account of this fight? Frances is asked to meet with the grieving family, and is drawn into their world. Alys and Laurence's daughter Polly, a glamorous yet flaky drama student, is Frances' way of getting a foot in the door - by acting as a stabilising force in Polly's life, Frances begins her quest to become a part of the family and sets her cap at Laurence.

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Maybe it’s not really lying if you barely know you’re doing it. It should be true. It’s the way it should be, in an ideal world.” This thought occurs to Frances after hearing her mother lie to her friends about the dog, Margot; but Frances seems to apply this rationale to her own life. Reflect on the scene when Frances meets the Kyte family for the first time. Why does Frances lie to the Kytes about Alys’ s last words? What effect do Frances’s words have on the Kytes? If placed in a similar situation what would you choose to do?

This reading group guide for Alys Always includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book. Do you think Frances was justified in accidentally leaving her scarf for Polly to find? What about dialing Polly’s number from Laurence’s phone? Why or why not? Opera includes The Cunning Little Vixen, Don Giovanni and Król Roger at ROH; The Cunning Little Vixen, Don Giovanni and Der Freischütz for Danish Royal Opera; Otello for Metropolitan Opera, New York; Zeitgest at the Coliseum; Das Liebesverbot at Teatro Real, Madrid; The Flying Dutchman for Finland National Opera; West Side Story at Malmo Opera (2020 Drama Desk Award); Don Giovanni for Barcelona Opera; Marco Polo for Guangzhou Opera House; Carmen for Bregenzer Festspiele; and next year Don Giovanni at Houston Grand Opera; and Porgy and Bess at National Opera, Amsterdam. At the beginning of the novel, Frances sees herself as anonymous and insignificant. By the end of the novel, Frances has a new job, connections, and the love of Laurence. When she runs into Oliver at a party he says, “But everyone wonders where you’ve come from.” Both Laurence and Polly ask her the exact same question independently of each other. Why do Oliver, Laurence, and Polly all ask Frances this question? How is the question different each time, depending on who asks it? How is it similar?I can’t bear to give away anything else; this novel begins with a bang and delivers all sorts of surprises, but also manages some acute observations about bereavement and guilt. A very fine debut. Lane works out her dramatic premise with great originality.”