Prolific playwright Alan Ayckbourn has just released his 90th play in his 85th year, Show & Tell, which is being premièred at the Stephen Joseph Theatre this autumn.
Table Manners is one of the first plays he wrote and is part of a trilogy of plays written in 1973 called The Norman Conquests, each play using the same characters and scenario but set in different parts of the house. A clever idea and much produced in their various forms by the amdram circuit for some years.
Ayckbourn is the king of family farces, and this one is typical of quite a lot of his early output. It centres on three couples who are all related and meet for the weekend at their mother’s home where a number of arguments ensue and difficult situations are worked through.
Annie is the spinster sister doomed to look after Mother, who has an on / off relationship with nerdy vet Tom. Quiet and shy, he comes over for meals but never takes the relationship any further. In desperation, Annie agrees to go away with her would-be Lothario brother-in-law Norman, whose marriage to her strident sister, Ruth, seems to be in permanent conflict. She has asked her brother Reg and bossy sister-in-law Sarah to come and mind Mother for the weekend, but hasn’t told them why.
When Norman turns up unexpectedly and the secret spills out, the result is a very uncomfortable weekend for all of them.
All the action takes place on a magnificent set that is a perfect example of a middle-class, 1970s dining room. Unfortunately, the whole scenario, basis of the comedy and opinions expressed are all very dated. And the characters come across as rather stilted and two-dimensional—not helped by very heavy handed direction from Ben Roddy.
Lucy-Jane Quinlan plays Annie with a lighter touch than the rest, and this is really what Ayckbourn’s early comedy needs as it is a script that plays with words and subtle innuendos. But Joanna Simpkin’s Sarah emphasises every line and move with a sledgehammer, as does Ross Waiton’s Norman, whose whole persona would put any woman off spending half an hour with him, let alone a whole weekend.
Best of the bunch is Pete Ashmore, who gives Reg a believable quality the others distinctly lack. There are some amusing moments, but they are swamped out by the more cringy ones. Even the costumes leave a lot to be desired.
There has been a recently successful revival of the '70s classic Abigail’s Party, so this era of play can be performed for a modern audience to enjoy. Unfortunately, this production of Table Manners substantially misses the mark.