The Norman Conquests

So lucky was I to see The Norman Conquests today at a matinee at Circle in the Square. Alan Ayckbourn wrote three plays that take place over one weekend in three different locations: the dining room, the living room and the garden.

They are entitled, respectively, Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden.

We saw Living Together. In the Living Room.

It was simply very humorous, directed with perfect pitch timing by Matthew Warchus, with a cast of stellar people you may or may not have heard of: Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephan Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter and Amanda Root.

Each character is a bit of a type. Comedy, afterall. The silliness is tinged with desperate sadness. Stephan Mangan, playing Norman, is the seducer, pulling everyone possible into his horny, needy clutches. It is not so much farce as it is drawing room comedy at a high pitch.

The three plays fit together like a puzzle, so if you go back to see another one of the plays, you get to see the action going on in the other room or garden. And, if someone exits in one of the plays with a basket, that entrance is seen in the other play, with the same character carrying the basket. It’s all pretty cool and it takes a quick and big mind to pull off this kind of writing. Alan Ayckbourn takes about two weeks to write a play. This is true and not a criticism. Though the stuff does not run too deep, it does run quite truthful. So what the heck! Smart guy. He has written about seventy plays.

Clever. Enjoyable. Extremely well done. It’s the Old Vic production from London.

Head on over. If you are feeling energetic, go to one of the days when you can see all three plays. Bring a bagged lunch.