Despite being written in the not too distant past in the early 70s Alan Ayckbourn’s Table Manners feels like a period piece from a bygone age. It has elements of farce which revolve around six people brought together for a weekend, along with the amorous advances of Norman and the use of a lot of cutlery. Unsurprisingly, given the title, the play is set in a dining room.  

There’s also the added and slightly confusing dimension of three of the characters being siblings. Dutiful Annie (Hollie Matusiewicz), Reg who is somewhat clueless (Freddie Dobrijevic) and a shortsighted Ruth (Tabz Fogg).

Ayckbourn’s script doesn’t fully develop the issues around family rivalry and affection. Alongside these characters we have Sarah, Reg’s uptight wife (Emma Bamford). Tom (Graham Muir) the slightly dull vet who is sometime suitor for Annie’s affection and Norman (Allan Smith) the amorous would-be gigolo who is desperate for affection and attention.

The storyline of the play is somewhat convoluted so bear with me. The six characters are staying in the siblings’ mother’s house. We never meet their mother who is bedbound and usually cared for by Annie. Reg and Sarah have agreed to stay the weekend so Annie can have a well-deserved short holiday. Initially Sarah assumes that Annie is going away with Tom the vet who has been in their lives for years. However, it transpires that Annie is planning to go away with Norman, her brother-in-law, to, of all places East Grinstead.

After Norman turns up at the house planning to take Annie away for the weekend. Annie is persuaded by Sarah that going away with Norman is a bad idea and she should focus on Tom as a potential love match. Sarah summons Ruth, who though aware of her husband’s philandering nature, is initially unaware that her sister is this time the object of his affections. This convoluted dynamic plays out in the dining room over a number of meals and chaotic interactions among the family members.

All the Leicester Drama Society actors, under the direction of Russell Hughes, do a great job in bringing life to this slightly dated play. Ayckbourn doesn’t specify when exactly the play is set, probably sometime in the late 60s early 70s, and to today’s sensibilities the attitudes expressed feel very old fashioned. Specifically, the relative merits around the choice of either being a mother or a businesswoman. The choice is stark – it’s one or the other.

There are some laugh out loud funny moments. Reg and Sarah’s constant bickering and marital sparring is well timed and confidently played out by both actors. Norman is the source of much humour, both verbal and visual. He’s played with great gusto by Allan Smith who brings out both his endearing and exasperating nature. There’s an amusing scene when he is rather childishly trying to force the other characters to break their silence and speak to him over breakfast.

Another when Norman appears for dinner wearing the suit of the siblings’ dead father. As Sarah comments “he was a man of quite extraordinary size, both in terms of arm and leg measurements”. The suit is far too short and small emphasizing both the physical and emotional discomfort it causes.

The dinner scene which involves a form of musical chairs without the music results in Tom being seated in a child’s chair. Again, there’s some lovely visual and verbal humour with great timing from all the cast. At times the subtlety of the verbal jousting by the characters gets a little lost due to the volume and the speed of its delivery.

Emma Bamford as Sarah plays a central role in moving along the plot. She has a great ability to underline her words visually with subtle expression. Her rather lovely and glamorous outfits along with Norman’s pyjamas deserve praise.

The set design by Sophie Zielonka is also worth a special mention. The dining room’s wood panelled formality grounds the action firmly within a household that is stuck in its ways.

Table Manners is one of three plays in Ayckbourn’s trilogy The Norman Conquests, all featuring the same set of characters. You don’t have to have seen these to enjoy this production for its humour and wit.