Annie has arranged to spend an illicit weekend with her sister’s husband Norman, a librarian and unlikely lothario. She has asked her older brother Reg and his wife to look after their widowed mother and the house so she can get away. But when their plans are rumbled, the would-be lovers find themselves trapped with their spouses and siblings for an awkward weekend.
Set entirely round the dining table over the course of two days, sibling rivalries, failed seductions, and fragile male egos play out over unsatisfactory salads and Mother’s best place settings.
Table Manners is part comedy of confusion and part 1970s domestic drama, all of it sparkling with Alan Ayckbourn’s sharp social commentary and quick-witted humour.
The play is part of Ayckbourn’s trilogy The Norman Conquests; three standalone plays that depict the events of a single weekend. The trilogy won the London Evening Standard Award for Best Play in 1974 and the Tony for Best Revival in 2009.
Tickets: £14-16; Season Pass & concession prices available.
