Separate Tables

This beautifully written play by Terence Rattigan was a great choice by this very talented company. Jeff Redfern, Director, has managed to bring together a selection of the most experienced and talented actors in the Fylde to make the evening very special. The opening scene seemed a little slow but this was needed to introduce us to the many characters involved and then the remainder of the piece gathered momentum and continued at just the correct pace. The evening flew by, a sure sign of of a successful production. The intriguing set was solid and was the perfect working space for the actors. I remember the lovely 1958 film directed by Delbert Mann with cast members including Deborah Kerr, David Niven and Gladys Cooper and have been a fan of the play ever since and I was intrigued to find out how this society would approach this classic piece. If I tell you I would love to see another performance today, you will know how much I enjoyed my visit the other night. There were some sterling performances on stage, all characters delightfully played. I was most impressed by Rosemary Roe as Mrs Railton Bell, Rosie Withers as Miss Cooper, Andy Cooke as Mr Malcolm and newcomer to the society, Poppy Flanagan as Mrs Shankland. Other roles were ideally cast and they all combined to provide an evening of pure theatre. I felt that occasionally, some of the dialogue needed more projection especially when characters were upstage but this in no way spoilt the evening. Costumes, furnishings and props had been obviously well researched and I was particularly impressed by the attention to detail creating the ambience of the period. Scene changes were smooth and quick and I loved the choice of incidental music. Another excellent evening by this talented company.

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