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Show: Separate Tables
Society: Company of Ten at Abbey Theatre
Venue: Abbey Theatre St Albans
Credits: Terence Rattigan
Type: Sardines
Author: Samantha Cartwright
Performance Date: 11/05/2023
Separate Tables
Samantha Cartwright | 12 May 2023 15:39pm
The Abbey Theatre, is built and run entirely by members, and they are all about providing high-quality, affordable theatre to the local community. For more than fifty years ‘Company of Ten’ has been entertaining audiences here.
Separate Tables by Terence Rattigan (of course), is a play set in a rural hotel in Bournemouth, where two stories are told in separate acts of love and loss. Set in the 1950s when times were very different, this play provides us with the inside knowledge of judgement and opinions.
The scene is being set as I walk to my seat by cast members; this is something that always draws me in as it feels like I’m getting a sneak peak. It is a well-thought-out set (designed by Ali Pagan) not only gives a beautiful performing space, it adds in dimensions letting your imagination believe it goes on for many other rooms out of sight. It is simple to change into a different room, which happens often, and very in-keeping with the era. I will mention that during the play when the scenes are changing, it does take slightly longer than my patience wants to wait. I do see the purpose of it and actually like that it is the cast keeping in character, staff in the hotel, but I feel that possibly some stage hands dressed as staff could have assisted and it would have kept the pace from grinding to a halt each time.
The cast members are all strong actors and appear to have a sense of experience on the stage. The acting skills in this play are to a professional standard, there is no doubt about that. Mrs Railton-Bell (Alison Muir) is commanding the stage and when she is in a scene, her stage presence draws you to her and also her comic timing is spot on, allowing for some light relief.
The play is quite long (I was still in my seat at 10.45pm), this isn’t an issue when I’m completely enthralled by what I’m watching but I’m finding this play a hard watch. It has all the right elements: a talented cast, stunning set and costumes, yet it isn’t drawing me in. I think it’s a personal preference and not a reflection on this production at all. The script is very dated and feels like why explain something with five words when you can use a thousand. The subject matters do not hold the same issues as they did in the 1950s either, not to say they shouldn’t be discussed, but it’s difficult to connect or relate with the characters when it’s so far removed from today’s world.