While Alan Ayckbourn is poorly, his Scarborough theatre is about to test acting fibre to the full.

THE biggest two-hander in the world is about to be attempted by actors Claudia Elmhirst and Bill Champion who will be performing all the characters in no fewer than eight Alan Ayckbourn plays at Scarborough. . .

with 16 different endings. At one point, the ambitious Intimate Exchanges project by Sir Alan seemed under threat when the 66-year-old artistic director of the resort's Stephen Joseph Theatre suffered a stroke in February and is now recovering at home. But Tim Luscombe stepped in to direct the first few plays and, on Thursday, Claudia and Bill begin what they describe as "acting's ultimate challenge".

The two Stephen Joseph favourites are now in the final stages of preparing to bring back the eight plays for the first since since a Scarborough premiere in 1984, which launched a lucrative West End transfer.

Claudia laughs about 'needing a lie down in a darkened room over Christmas' with the run of linked plays lasting until April 2007 and says: "I didn't know anything about it because I wasn't aware of the original plays and got two scripts through the post for an audition. So the eight was a gradual process of Alan saying 'by the way. . .' And it was quite a shock when I discovered there was just the two of us doing it all. The challenge is to make an audience believe that the various characters you're playing are different and separate people with their own relationships."

She and Bill Champion have to switch roles up to four times a night as they bring a village 'somewhere off the M4' to life introducing headmaster Toby Teasdale and his long-suffering wife Celia coping with suicidal friends, interfering neighbours, sexy caretakers and mad mothers-in-law in the comedy dramas.

Claudia jokes: "The costume changes are carefully planned because you can't appear on stage wearing someone else's moustache and, so far, the costume department has avoided leather trousers which would make quick changes impossible."

But she admits: "This is fantastic fun for an actor, usually you have your two or three scenes in a play and that's it and you go away and create a whole world for yourself because you want to make your job more interesting. You don't need to do that this time."

The plays, which open with Events On A Hotel Terrace, have been updated to present day from the 1980s and Claudia adds: "We changed things like ravioli because we felt it wasn't as novel as it was 20 years ago and put in Tai green curry instead, which sounds a bit more exotic."

So how is she coping with having to remember words, characters and even endings that will change from performance to performance?

"The very crucial areas are that some plays have a similar section and you have to make the right choice as your character or you'll throw your fellow actor and the entire management crew will be bearing down on you. It sounds terrible and confusing but I think once you get familiar with each play you treat them separately otherwise it's going to fry our brains, " she says.

And as for performing six plays between next week until autumn and then adding in two more for a performance of all eight during a week in March, Claudia adds: "I now can't remember my birthdate, or my name for that matter, but I know the words."