The Norman Conquests - Part I - Table Manners

he Norman Conquests

The best of British comedy written by the great Alan Ayckbourn. - JW

The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. Table Manners is set in the dining room, Living Together in the living room, and Round and Round the Garden in the garden.

The plays were first performed in Scarborough, before runs in London and on Broadway. A television version was first broadcast in the UK during October 1977.

The trilogy presents a comically fraught weekend from three different perspectives, as family and in-laws gather at the decaying country house of their bedridden mother; the drink flows, and hidden enmities, intimate secrets, and uncomfortable truths emerge through the veneer of jollity and civility.

From IMDB:

10/10
One of my favourite television plays
sinaasappelsapisdebomb9 December 2020
The Norman Conquests, though at the surface a light-hearted comedy, requires you to think before you quite understand what's going on. The more you try to make sense of what happens when (on- and off-screen), the more enjoyable it'll be. There's a certain fun in piecing together all the bits and pieces you pick up during the three parts, all while enjoying a well-written and -acted television play.

I absolutely love this series. The idea for the screenplay is genius (in my opinion). My first time watching I couldn't wait to see all three parts to figure out how an (in itself) complete story could have two more additions. And how wrong I was! Though each part seems to be a complete story on its own, they're a far from. To make sense of the entire goings-on during the weekend, you'll have to watch all three.

The casting is great. At least, I love the cast! Tom Conti as Norman is quite hilarious in my opinion, especially when you first see his appearance on screen; Penelope Wilton is perfectly suited as Annie, in both an innocence and temperament; Penelope Keith is a perfect Sarah - the fact that she towers over most of the cast (especially her husband) only adds to this; and Richard Briers is the perfect Reg, his timing fits the character superbly! Both Fiona Walker and David Troughton fit their roles very well, too, though I'd say the first four really stand out to me.

Personally I'd recommend watching the plays in the same order they were broadcast, but of course any order works!