Living Together

Surrey Advertiser

Theo Spring

The middle play of Alan Ayckbourn’s trilogy, The Norman Conquests, it is set in the living room of Mother’s house where, bedridden, she is cared for by daughter Annie.

Annie, given naïve emotional confusion by Tracy George, has a long-standing and uninspiring boyfriend Tom, but her brother-in-law Norman has (in Table Manner’s; set in the dining room) propositioned her to spend the weekend with him in East Grinstead. Bored with Tom, she has accepted, but when the family come up to take care of Mother, the plot is rumbled and the action moves to this play and the living room.

Norman is quickly established as fickle and shallow by Geoff Hall who, behaving like a spoilt child whose lolly has been snatched, proceeds to get very drunk on dandelion wine. Hall seems to win the audience to his side even though, with one prize escaping his grasp, he philanders with another – in this case, Annie’s brother’s wife Sarah.

Laurie Bright’s Sarah is prim, proper and draconian, but goes soft around the edges as Norman weaves his charms on her.

The third lady in Norman’s own trilogy is his wife Ruth, Annie’s sister, given brashness and egotism by Cheryl Dunne who melts with Norman onto the living room rug – that same rug where Annie and Norman held their tryst at Christmas, plotting East Grinstead.

Put-upon Reg, although brother to Ruth and Annie, is heavily ruled by Sarah, unless absorbed in his hobby of inventing games. Will Harris gave Reg a resigned air for his wife, who said he suffered from “Burmese Inertia”, but came perkily to life when explaining the machinations of his latest game invention which he persuades those gathered to try and play.

“This is the board,” he says stating the obvious, but Tom (a doleful Iain Fulton) already appears confused.

An unsuccessful meal – “salad” says Reg “grows while you are eating it\2 – and an argument over the coffee and washing up, provide the backdrop for Ayckbourne’s fine family feuding to which director Ira Murray gave realism and comic timing, providing an excellent evening’s entertainment.

NODA

There are so many good characters to get you teeth into in Living Together so first let me start by congratulating Ira Murray on her casting. Everyone seemed to be ‘just right’  and certainly got to grips with who they were.

Norman was emotionally all over the place. Tom managed to convey that sort of obtuseness which could have bordered on being thick, but came over as genuinely uncomprehending. Sarah combined command with a soft spot. Annie had just the right combination of ingénue and dog’s body. Reg was the perfect put-upon husband and Ruth steamed into Act II with the business-like approach which had obviously given her continuing promotion in her job.

Because this is one of the Norman Conquests and although each play stands solidly on its own, I think some of the background programme notes would have been helpful to those who were new to the trilogy.

The layout of the Charles Cryer gives ample room on stage but obviously has its drawbacks behind the half-box set. Light spill caused shadow after exits through the door stage left.

The set itself, however, was well designed and executed. I particularly like the window seats.

Care had been taken to create the era through costumes – Sarah’s being particularly apt with the beads telling much about her character. I found Norman’s woolly hat with it’s Army colour and style, a little threatening at first. A slightly kinder, more frivolous hat with a bobble might have softened his first entrance.

Pictures from the play still come to mind. Norman’s evolving drunkenness was both amusingly and realistically achieved by Geoff Hall, as was his resulting wine-induced slumber and subsequent fall from the window box.

“The Game” was very well blocked for the positions and presented the ring of truth to all those who are enticed into such shenanigans at family gatherings. There are always those who grasp the rules and those who never do!

The rug scene was very well done – the audience were left to fill in the details in their own imaginations, but the quick change in emotions from ‘stay away’ to ‘come here’ was well portrayed by both Cheryl Dunne and Geoff Hall.

Iain Fulton’s Tom was wonderfully quizzical. His straightforward attitude to life him without any ability to gauge nuances, implications, innuendos or even obvious invitations. A most enjoyable performance.

Laurie Bright gave out all the hard-bitten signals of being the ‘her indoors’ of Sarah and Reg’s marriage. The implication that she had fallen for Norman’s sweet talk as the play culminates was, therefore, even more incredulous for the audience to grasp. As I have said – perfect casting here because Laurie Bright seems to have the ability to transform herself into whomever she chooses.

Annie was the excellent hands of Tracy George. Looking neat, she implied a straightforward and uncomplicated upbringing which equipped her badly for the turn her life had taken. A certain amount of ‘worm turning’ did not destroy the audience’s belief that she was, really, at the family’s beck and call. An excellent Annie.

Will Harris had a difficult job on his hands with Reg. Blundering into awkward situations, unable to see facts staring him in the face and walking a fine line between loathing and loving his life with Sarah. He came alive, of course, when talking or thinking about his ‘game’.

Cheryl Dunne created a self-centred, egotistical Ruth. Polished to a hard shine she really thought only of herself. It’s difficult to work out how Account imagined her getting together with Norman in the first place!

Ira Murray’s direction created excellent timing in her cast, good movement around the set and the notable characterisations given above. A most enjoyable play and a very entertaining evening.