AS its short-opening run rushes towards a sell-out, Alan Ayckbourn's RolePlay, is newly confirmed for a RePlay at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Ayckbourn's third premiere of the Scarborough summer - the 60th play of his prolific career - opened last night and all but one of the performances have been booked up already.

There is limited ticket availability for tomorrow's 2.30pm matinee but every other performance up to September 8 has sold out. So, in response to the "immense demand" at the box office, RolePlay will return from November 6 to 17.

Written mid-rehearsal for GamePlan and FlatSpin, the play was a late, surprise addition to Ayckbourn's summer, expanding his Damsels In Distress season into a trilogy of separate plays to be performed by the same cast on the same set.

All three productions will be presented on a gala day, next Saturday, before the company embarks on a tour of other theatres-in-the-round.

In RolePlay, in their luxurious Docklands apartment, Justin Lazenby and Julie-Ann Dobson plan an introductory supper for their parents. Will the Jobsons, Derek and Dee, meet with the approval of Justin's mother, Arabella, plus whoever she plans to bring with her?

Everything needs to be just right - and planned to the last detail - at this important occasion, but no one has allowed for the arrival of the desperate Paige Petite. She literally drops in from the upstairs flat, hotly pursued by the menacing Micky Rale.

Ayckbourn's production stars the now familiar cast of Bill Champion, Saskia Butler, Robert Austin, Tim Faraday, Jacqueline King, Alison Pargeter and Beth Tuckey. Booking is newly open for the return of RolePlay, and tickets cost £8.50 to £13.50 with reductions available. To book, ring 01723 370541.