DescriptionTish and Nick direct and produce this "triumph" by Terence Rattigan
These two plays are set in a shabby genteel hotel on England's south coast. Except for the two leads in each (which may be doubled) the same characters appear in both. In Table by the Window, a down-at-the-heels journalist is confronted by his ex-wife, a former model who provoked him to the violent act that sent him to prison, destroying his future. Still in love, they nevertheless go through another terrible scene and it is the hotel manager, Miss Cooper, who helps repair their broken lives. In Table Number Seven, a 'self-made' army colonel without any true background and education to which he lays claim, finds solace with a spinster over the objections of her ruthless, domineering mother. When a sordid scandal threatens to drive them apart, Miss Cooper again comes to the rescue. Cast Mabel - Pia Obank Lady Matheson - Georgie Brooks Mrs Railton-Bell - Lou Jackson Miss Meachum - Sheila Keatinge Doreen - Jayne Potter Mr Fowler - Andrew MacTavish Mrs Shankland - Kath Gill Miss Cooper - Eve Berry Mr Malcolm - Dave Bowden Mr Stratton - Charlie Edgley Miss Tanner - Hilary Martin Major Pollock - Nigel Bacon Sibyl Railton-Bell - Phillipa Lee "Audience reaction says it all" (Bucks Free Press review by Archie Wilson) Terence Rattigan's Separate Tables is actually two plays, both set in the same Bournemouth hotel and both using the same set of characters. The first tells the tale of the drunken ex-junior minister who is unexpectedly confronted by his divorced wife. The second tells of a bogus major, bound over for insulting behaviour in a cinema, and shows reaction to his exposure. Lou Jackson playing Mrs Railton Bell, was the epitome of upper class, English snobbery. Her sneering, down the nose look and haughty demeanor deserved an Oscar. Philipa Lee, as Railton Bell's sexually repressed spinster daughter Sibyl, was good enough to raise a ripple of applause when she finally broke loose from her mother's apron strings. The alcoholic hack/ex-minister John Malcolm was portrayed to a tee by Dave Bowden, tie askew, acerbic but somehow little-boyish. There seemed to be a collective "ahh" when it final made it up with wife Mrs Shanklin (played by Kath Gill). One felt immensely sorry for Miss Cooper (Eve Berry), loser in love but all round good fellow, administering comfort and solid advice to all and sundry, particularly the disgraced Major Pollock, superbly portrayed by the irresistible Nigel Bacon. A grand performance this. If Lane End Players' millennium season continues in this form, we are all in for a treat. |
Author
Terence Rattigan
Directors
Tish Marshall and Nick Wyse
VenueLane End Village Hall
Church Road Lane End Bucks HP14 3JE (see map below) |
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