07 Oct 2008
It is a strange sensation to see the auditorium of the Old Vic completely reconfigured; to see audience members sitting behind the proscenium arch where the stage should be. But it is testament to Matthew Warchus’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s triptych... Read more
Age: General
Genre: Play
Sub Genre: Comedy
Table Manners is the dining room-set third of Alan Ayckbourn’s trio of comedy plays The Norman Conquests.
The action of each of the plays in The Norman Conquests – Table Manners, Living Together and Round And Round The Garden – takes place simultaneously and follows the same six characters in the same English country house from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
Believing it his mission in life to make women happy by showering them with love, Norman makes the most of every opportunity to seduce his sister-in-law Annie, charm his brother-in-law’s wife Sarah and woo his wife Ruth during a disastrous weekend of squabbling, eating, drinking and fondling.
The Norman Conquests: Table Manners stars Stephen Mangan in the role of Norman. Best known as Guillane Secretan in hospital comedy Green Wing, Mangan has appeared on stage in productions including The People Are Friendly (Royal Court theatre), Noises Off (Piccadilly theatre) and Hayfever (Savoy theatre).
Ben Miles (TV’s Coupling and Lark Rise To Candleford) plays Tom in The Norman Conquest: Table Manners. Miles’s other stage credits include Richard II (Old Vic theatre), My Child (Royal Court theatre) and Mary Stuart (National Theatre).
The part of Norman’s sister-in-law Annie is played by Jessica Hynes. BAFTA-nominated for her performance in the film Tomorrow La Scala, Hynes co-wrote and starred in two series of the cult Channel 4 comedy Spaced. Hynes’s stage appearances include The Plough And The Stars (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and The Night Heron, for which she received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.
The cast of The Norman Conquests: Table Manners is completed by Amelia Bullmore (The Thickness Of Skin, Road, The Queen And I), Paul Ritter (The Hothouse, Royal Hunt Of The Sun, Coram Boy) and Amanda Root (Enemies, Conversations After A Burial).
The Norman Conquests: Table Manners has seen the Old Vic theatre reconfigured to create a theatre-in-the-round space for which the plays were originally written. This is the first time they have been revived in London in 34 years. The three plays can be seen as separate productions or as a whole.
For more about The Norman Conquests: Table Manners at the Old Vic, read the First Night Feature.
show times: Mon-Sat 19:30, Mats Wed & Sat 15:00 (18 Oct, 1, 22 Nov, 6, 20 Dec 11:00, 15:00 & 19:30. No perfs 13, 27 Oct, 17 Nov, 1, 15 Dec. No mats 11-30 Sep, 8 & 11 Oct). In rep - please check with theatre for performance dates
ticket prices: £10-£45
duration: 2h15
captioned performance: By in-house on Tue 11 Nov at 19:30 BO: 0871 2975477 E: ticketcentre@theambassadors.com E: ticketcentre@theambassadors.com
cast: Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter, Amanda Root
director: Matthew Warchus
music by: Gary Yershon
sound: Simon Baker
lighting designer: David Howe
designer: Rob Howell
map: View Map
address: The Cut, London, United Kingdom, SE1 8NB
nearest tube: Waterloo (200m)
nearest bus: 1, 68, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 501
nearest train: Waterloo (200m) Take Exit 2 and turn right.
parking: 1 bay for blue badge holders in Webber Street, plus meters. NCP in Coin Street. Nearest taxi pick-up point is at Waterloo station.
air conditioned: Yes
Access Booking: Tel: 0871 297 5477 Fax: 020 7928 4397 Minicom: 0870 060 6641 Online booking form available via www.oldvictheatre.com/access EMAIL: ticketcentre@theambassadors.com
discounts: Discounts vary with each production.
limited mobility: Boxes or E28, F20, G6, G31, M4, X7 in the Stalls have the most leg room.
access description: There is no step-free access to the foyer, box office or any bars. There are four steps from the street into the foyer and box office (on your right). Handrails are available on either side of the entrance. From the foyer there are three steps into the Stalls (without handrails). There are 29 steps to the Dress Circle and a further 20 steps to the Baylis Circle (with handrails). Step-free access to the theatre is only available 30 minutes before each performance. The theatre is open 1 hour before the performance.
hearing impaired: Sennheiser infra-red system. A unit is required to be collected from the cloakroom for a £5 deposit (which will be refunded on return of the unit). 30+ units available, including in-ear types and loop units to be used with the T-setting/switch on hearing aids. Some seats are unsuitable for use with the units, please inform the box office at the time of booking if one is likely to be needed. Induction loop is available at the walk-up box office.
guide dogs policy: Guide dogs are allowed into the auditorium. Alternatively, staff can dog-sit. Pleae inform Box Office at time of booking.
wheelchairs: All step-free access to the theatre is through a door on Webber Street (next to Stage Door). Staff will need to be notified in order to open doors and place a ramp down. One wheelchair position in Stalls seat N5, a companion can sit in N6. In the case of a transfer, the wheelchair will be stored in the adapted toilet which is next to the access door and close to the wheelchair position. Please discuss any access needs with the box office at the time of booking.
toilets: There are men’s and women’s off the Pit bar, and 21 steps up from the Lilian Baylis bar.
disabled toilets: Adapted WC on the left inside the side entrance.
The Norman Conquests, three plays by Alan Ayckbourn
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