Table Manners

Table Manners is part of Alan Ayckbourn’s Norman Conquests trilogy, which was written in 1973. The 3 plays cover a traumatic family weekend in the same house, each set in a different area. Table Manners, as its title suggests, is set in the dining room. The Nomads put on a successful production of Round and Round the garden in 2019, and of Living Together in 2021. Here we see the return of the same talented Director, Danny Sparkes, and of largely the same cast reprising their previous roles.  A comedy, of course, yet many a sad element to the three plays. All human life is here, so to speak: bickering families; the rivalry between siblings and in-laws; the male ego, often very fragile; the fading looks and chances; and fears of approaching middle age; the delights and disappointments of marriage; and the looming presence of the Aged Parent!  Simmering tensions abound.

The Nomads are very fortunate indeed to have their own excellent theatre, with newly developed bar, tucked away behind a parade of shops in East Horsley. As always, a friendly welcome was extended to all.

We were given a neat little programme with good cover design, Director’s Note, some information about the Nomads, and good cast profiles.

The set was an attractive dining room, with a door to the left onto the enticingly lit garden outside, and to the right to the hallway. In this setting, of course, a canteen of cutlery and many table settings and glasses were all of paramount importance. So were some stale water biscuits, lots of lettuce, and one particular plate and knife. Lighting was very effective throughout. Costumes were in keeping with the period.

The central character in all 3 plays, as the name of the trilogy suggests, is Norman, a librarian and would-be Lothario, who is desperate to seduce either one or both of his sisters-in-law. Annie appears to have previously succumbed to his charms and agreed to spend the weekend with him in East Grinstead, of all places.

The arrival of interfering sister-in-law Sarah, who guesses something is up, and almost forces a confession from Annie, puts paid to these plans. Annie doesn’t seem too upset by this, just embarrassed to have been discovered. And we end up with Norman hanging about the place in his pyjamas.

Annie is the unmarried, as yet, daughter who got stuck at home looking after the aged parent, but with a certain hope of a better future with Tom, the local vet. Suzanne Doherty gave a finely observed portrait of this character, who is capable, tough and feisty, not wishing to be pushed around by her relatives yet full of the frustration that accompanies the role of the stay-at-home daughter, and basically sole carer. She resents the more independent existences of her siblings Reg and Ruth, and their spouses, and the constant moaning by Sarah about how hard her life is, looking after her two children. The idea of going away for the weekend with her brother-in-law Norman must have come to her in a moment of madness, for she then hopes to goodness that when this plan is exposed to all, it doesn’t spoil her chances with Tom. She needn’t have worried!

The hapless Tom, played again to perfection by Matt Weaver, has the emotional intelligence of a flea, and seems to enjoy popping in to the house for a bit of company and a jolly good dinner. He seems to see Annie as nothing more than a good companion. One wonders what his reaction would be if he DID notice Annie’s hopes. But his head being always in the clouds, thinking about cats’ paws and horses’ fetlocks, he simply doesn’t. The audience shares Annie’s frustration.

Sarah was a fine portrait by Vykki Mash of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, as we saw when she blew her top as everyone ignored her seating plan for the really cosy and strife-free, she hoped, family meal. One did rather wonder why Annie had not shopped appropriately for guests, they ended up with plates of lettuce and a stew concocted from tins found in the larder. Poor Sarah was horrified, and just could not understand Annie’s casual attitude, she wanted everything to be just right, everyone and everything in its right place. Her nerves were on edge the whole time, to the point where, head in hands, she was physically shaking, so upset was she with the way the evening was progressing.  Sarah’s taut nerves must have struck a chord with many a wife and mother in the audience. But they hadn’t had to deal with a husband like Reg. Reg was a real drip, with a silly nervous laugh, who obviously left everything around the house to Sarah, and couldn’t understand her trials and tribulations one bit. He was played well by Iain Macfarlane, henpecked he was, and yet so used to it, he’d almost become oblivious to it. He was maddening, with his silly quips and lack of oomph – no wonder Sarah was a picture of frustration, why didn’t the man get a grip?

Guy Shirley played Norman as a loveable if extremely irritating rogue, who was just unable to stop himself making a play for any woman who crossed his path, and able to spot just when they were at their most vulnerable, and thus most likely to succumb to his somewhat doubtful charms. A good performance this too.

His career woman wife Ruth, played with panache by Moyra Brookes, had seen it all before, of course, and was quite blasé about it. She was secure in her position, and anyway her career was of paramount importance to her. One did wonder how those two ever got together, but people meet in younger years, and their life paths diverge as they mature – Norman stuck in his library, Ruth bursting through glass ceilings.

So a finely observed piece of writing by Ayckbourn, not without its sad moments. I’m thinking of course of the scene with poor dear maddened Annie trying in vain to break that plate with that knife. But great comedy, of course, and characters to annoy and charm. Having seen every one of these Nomad productions, I shall quite miss the six of them!

 

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