Table Manners

by Alan Ayckbourn

12-13, 19-20 October 2007

It has been said that you can’t go wrong with Alan Ayckbourn, but the truth is that you can, because his plays are demanding, not easy to perform and need pace and stamina. Fortunately, ‘Table Manners’ is in good hands, in this, the third of Ayckbourn’s trilogy performed by Pateley Bridge Dramatic Society.

The lovely theatre lends itself well to the intimacy of the set of a slightly shabby family dining room and little touches, such as the neglected aspidistra plant and chairs with parts of their seats coming adrift, set the scene well. This play requires finely drawn characters and no one disappointed.

Ruth Dodsworth as the martyred and humourless Sarah cracked the verbal whip and drove things along at a pace, being the perfect foil for her more laid-back husband Reg (Michael Thorne) whose relaxed and natural performance was notable, as well as his ability to eat copious bowls of cereal on stage! It came as no surprise to read that Fiona Hewison had played Annie previously, so at ease did she appear in skin of the character, and her “boyfriend” was a delight as the infuriatingly half-soaked Tom (Robert LeMare). Peter Buller’s Norman had good comedic timing and Joyce Liggins as Ruth interpreted her character well in a quietly assertive manner. The laughter (and suppressed laughter by some) was both infectious and natural and the consumption of food (always difficult on stage) lacked the self-consciousness sometimes seen.

Sue Hickson must be congratulated on her direction of ‘Table Manners’. Using the acting characters to clear tables and set the next scene worked well, and her acknowledgement to Sandy Meese for producing four edible meals for each performance is well deserved.

E Taylor