In the press promotion of his post-stroke plays, Ayckbourn was at pains to stress their theatricality. He emphasizes the inherent differences between theatre and other dramatic media such as film and television. He has always revelled in the ‘live’ component; his whole catalogue is based on the difference between ‘seeing’ a play and ‘watching’ one. The multiplicity of digital media allows any individual to watch at their convenience. Theatre involves seeing a performance by live actors in the presence of an audience at a defined time in a shared space. Ayckbourn has always explored these differences, by defying the traditions and exploiting the limitations of live performance. It is manifested in his use of multiple stages and the disruption of Aristotelian unities of time and place. Previously these theatrical components had been the means of telling a story but, post 2008, drama itself sometimes becomes the subject matter. Comedy and the human desire to re-enact was the subject of Comic Potential (1998) (discussed earlier). More recently, he has returned to this idea. He explores the importance of theatre skills such as play-acting and the constructing of imagined narratives in our everyday lives. He suggests that memories are an important component and are, like a piece of theatre, psycho-dramas that we construct to aid recovery or hide painful truth.

Arrivals and Departures (2013) is set in the waiting area of a large railway station. Captain Quentin Sexton is head of a unit significantly named Strategic Simulated Distractional Operations, a title that could be a description of drama itself. But Sexton heads a quasi-military unit setting a trap for a terrorist suspect. The man to be caught is called Cerastes, after the mythical spineless serpent, nearly impossible to capture. His team is to act as ordinary members of the public in a sting operation. We watch rehearsals with a crowd of operatives acting ‘normally'. Anywhere, in real life it seems, could be seen as a stage peopled by actors. There are two other characters involved; they sit on a station bench and watch the scene. Much to Sexton's disapproval, a girl soldier, Private Ez, is posted as guard to protect a witness.