Table Manners, Little Theatre Leicester Review
Photo by Mary Jayne Harding Scott.Written by Hollie for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Based on Alan Ayckbourn’s play of the same name of the Norman Conquests trilogy, the Leicester Drama Society retells the events of one weekend as family members come together around the dining table at Leicester’s Little Theatre this week.
The show opens with sisters-in-law Annie and Sarah bickering over their plans for the weekend ahead, as Sarah and Reg come to attend to his mother for the weekend, whilst Annie plans to enjoy a weekend away. Family relationships and bickering are explored as the characters catch up over the dining room table and discuss their hopes and plans.
As Sarah tries hard to sort out her sister-in-law Annie’s love life it becomes clear that not all is what it seems and there is much more to the weekend plans than meets the eye. Audience members were laughing from the outset and throughout at the one-liners and dry humour provided by the actors in this comedy production.
There is a lot of dialogue in this production, so at times it can be hard to follow the plot of the story and where it is going, but the introduction of the male actors who play Norman, Reg and Tom gave the first act a new burst of energy.
The use of authentic and neat scenery allowed for the time of day to be portrayed cleverly on the stage as the actors sit around the dining room table and eat each meal. It was also clever how certain moments were not actually seen on stage, but these added to the plot of the story and humour of the evening.
The audience can relate to the monotony of the events in a day as well as the raised voices and relationship struggles that the characters encounter.
Reg, played by Freddie Dobrijevic, and his hilarious wig, make for many funny moments during the show. He is disappointed that he has had to cancel his round of golf for the weekend as he learns what is expected of him in terms of chores and entertaining guests.
Norman, played by Allan Smith, is a particularly funny character and his monologue made the audience laugh out loud more than once as he contemplated life over the dining room table whilst eating his morning cereal.
With more than one man vying for Annie’s attention, what will she decide to do and how will this play out with the other family members?
The production was not at all what I expected and the opening scene felt quite long as it wasn’t clear who the characters were and how they were related to each other, however, the comedy element of this show is really what makes it a great production and it is perfect for some escapism during the working week.
Table Manners continues its run at The Little Theatre until Saturday 15th June 2024.
☆ ☆ ☆.5
