The Norman Conquests
Broadway Comedy
The Norman Conquest is a trilogy of playlets composed of
Round and Round the Garden, Table Manners and Living
Together. This production performed the three in repertory
| |
Round and Round
the Garden |
Table
Manners |
Living
Together |
| Previews |
April 7 2009 |
April 8 2009 |
April 9 2009 |
| Opened |
April 23 2009 |
April 24 2009 |
April 25 2009 |
| Closed |
July 26 2009 |
July 26 2009 |
July 26 2009 |
| Run |
|
|
|
| Previews |
6 |
7 |
5 |
| Performances |
40 |
41 |
28 |
| |
|
|
|
Producer
Sonia Friedman Productions, Steven Baruch, Marc
Routh, Richard Frankel, Thomas Viertel, et al
Creative
Alan Ayckbourn author
Matthew Warchus director
Rob Howell costume design
David Howe lighting design
Rob Howell scenic design
Simon Baker sound design
|
Opening Night Cast |
|
|
|
Amelia Bullmore |
Ruth
Reg's & Annie's sister
Norman's wife |
|
|
Jessica Hynes |
Annie
Reg's & Ruth's sister |
|
|
Stephen Mangan |
Norman
Ruth's husband |
|
|
Ben Miles |
Tom
Annie's friend |
|
|
Paul Ritter |
Reg
Annie's & Ruth's brother
Sarah's husband |
|
|
Amanda Root |
Sarah
Reg's wife |
|
|
|
|
|
Synopsis
The three playlets tell the story of
one weekend as seen from three different vantage points: the garden,
the dining room and the sitting room. On his writing process, Mr
Ayckbourn says that as the action in each play happen
simultaneously, he wrote the plays "crosswise." That is, he wrote
scene one of one play, scene one of the second play, scene one of
the third play, followed by all the second scenes in each play. His
"Preface: The Norman Conquests" on his
notes page has a very interesting discussion on the strictures
under which he worked and the process
Now that we have that out of the way,
The Norman Conquests boils down to an English country weekend
comedy. Annie is caregiver to her Mom. Her brother Reg and his wife
Sarah drive down to give her a break so she can go on a trip with
friend Tom. Or so they thought. It turns out that the planned trip
was with brother-in-law Norman. As his plans with Annie fall
through, Norman turns his amorous attention to Sarah
Probably not a very smart thing to do
Broadway Show History
The three plays premiered on Broadway
December 7, 1975, playing in repertory at the Morosco Theater. The
ensemble included Richard Benjamin as Norman, Ken Howard as Tom,
Barry Nelson as Reg, Estelle Parsons as Sarah, Paula Prentiss as
Annie and Carole Shelley as Ruth
On Television
Thames Television released The
Norman Conquests as three made for television movies in 1977.
The films featured Richard Briers as Reg, Penelope Keith as Sarah,
Tom Conti as Norman, David Troughton as Tom, Fiona Walker as Ruth
and Penelope Wilton as Annie |
