In theatre, the cast tends to make or break a production, regardless of lighting, music, setting and to a lesser extent the screenwriting. When a cast is truly in sync, it is wonderful to behold. Longwood University theatre department’s rendition of “Table Manners” fits in said category, with an ensemble cast that moved like a well-oiled machine.
The play, written by Alan Ayckbourn is a comedy about a group of acquaintances and friends spending a weekend together at a home set on the countryside of England in the mid-1970s. Everyone in the house has a love/hate relationship amongst each other, which climaxes at the big dinner, hence “table manners.”
The cast dynamic was relatively even, with no one character seeming to emerge as the “main” character. The set was well lit, as a grand dining table sat in middle surrounded by what was presumably the rest of the dining room. Nothing special and perhaps even a bit boring, but a good setting to amplify character to character dialogue.
That dialogue, a well written series of personal afflictions, revelations, banter and everything in between carried the play and was executed to a tee by the cast of six. Seriously, there was no “weak” character, with each character stealing at least one scene.
The biggest grievance to take with the play is Act 1 being significantly less entertaining than Act 2. Not to say half the play was boring, but it took a while for the fireworks to start going and the jokes just didn’t hit all that well in the first act. Long dialogues that felt overrun didn’t help either, as jokes can seem tired during longer scenes.
Whatever issue I took up with Act 1 quickly faded in Act 2 as the intensity ratcheted up. As the plot revealed itself and the central figure (not main character) revealed his mischievous intentions, a lot of the scenes became laugh out loud funny.
That central figure, Norman (played by Jordan Stroud) is a retroactive pimp in every sense of the word, wooing every girl in the house at some point or another. It’s his ill-intentions that creates the most stirring moments too as the crowd is thrown off when he convinces his adversary Sarah (played by Kasey Gliszcyznski) to spend a weekend with him.
If there had to be one, Norman is probably the most outstanding cast member amongst a hilarious bunch. Ruth (played by Baylee Holloran) also seemed to do the most with her time, receiving the least amount of it, but displaying a ton of emotion and acting chops during so. If there had to be a third, Tom (played by Harrision Runion) was a goofy good-guy that was too easy to root for, a true gentleman and probably the protagonist if Norman could be considered an antagonist.
The whole cast of “Table Manners” was excellent as a memorable climax, the dinner in which no character displayed any table manners was as funny as they come. “Table Manners” excels when keeping it simple and simply letting the characters be as outrageous as they were intended to be, which it did for the majority of the play. Kudos for bringing the laughs.
