Table Manners makes up one part of Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests trilogy.
Ayckbourn is a master playwright, and his dexterity is so easily visible in this comic trilogy. The action weaves in and out of each part, with things as subtle as a character leaving a room holding a bin… who you’ll see re-entering another room holding the same bin in another part of the trilogy. The on-stage action becomes the off-stage action depending on which part you’re watching. Three rooms, six characters and a weekend of hilarity.
This one is from the perspective of the dining room. And while the playwright insists there’s no correct order in which to watch his three plays (and, indeed, each can be viewed as a standalone piece) Table Manners seems a good place to start.
The cast display a strong understanding of the style and comedy, with only a few minor missed moments on opening night. Yalin Ozucelik as Norman is an absolute cracker. He’s taken the character and completely made it his own, embracing all of Norman’s eccentricities with ease. And that’s just it – Norman is eccentric. He’s not a pest, or a perve. He’s a lovable oddball, and Ozucelik conveys this beautifully. The production hinges on his performance, as it’s Norman’s influence and actions that drive the play. It helps that he’s got some of the best lines in the piece.
Matilda Ridgway as a frazzled Annie is completely endearing and understandably exasperated with her simple life. She plays with a subtlety that would seem to belie the comedy, but Ridgway hits all the right notes. Ruth is a woman setting her own rules, and Rachel Gordon plays her with vivacity. Brian Meegan as Reg is suitably cheeky, Danielle Carter’s Sarah is a relatable lit fuse waiting to explode and Sam O’Sullivan’s wet rag Tom verges on pantomimic but is visibly rooted in truth.
Director Mark Kilmurry keeps the show bright and bubbly, which is what it needs. It could get bogged down in the outdated language and ye olde constrains of the British sexual revolution, but Kilmurry’s deft hand keeps us engaged and entertained.
Any play from Alan Ayckbourn is a delightful frolic through yesteryear, if you’re that way inclined. But there are always universal themes of loneliness, frustration, sexual desire and the longing for something better that keep companies coming back to them. He’s a master writer, and in the hands of a company like this one his work simply sizzles.
Catch Norman and his conquests in Table Manners, Round and Round the Garden or Living Together at the Ensemble Theatre until 12 Jan. Watch one, two or three – for the adventurous there’s even select dates where you can watch them all on the same day!
Alan Kaye – Theatre Now
Photo Credit: PRUDENCE UPTON
