The Norman Conquests

Sarah Mennell, Fiona Reid, Albert Schultz & Laura Condlln in Table Manners. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

Written in 1973, Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays about an adulterous weekend gone wrong as seen from three separate parts of a country home. Each piece follows the same six characters—the incorrigibly charming assistant librarian Norman (Albert Schultz), his good-natured brother-in-law Reg (Derek Boyes) and his uptight wife Sarah (Fiona Reid), Norman's fiercely independent wife Ruth (Sarah Mennell), her lonely younger sister Annie (Laura Condlln), and her hopelessly slow love interest Tom (Oliver Dennis)—interacting in various locations: the dining room in Table Manners, the living room in Living Together and outside in Round and Round the Garden. All of the plays deal with the same major events—a cat in a tree, the over consumption of dandelion wine, the unexpected arrival of Norman's wife Sarah, a car breaking down—from different angles.

Staged in the round, this evenly paced production features recognizably English sets by Ken MacKenzie, lovely costumes by Patrick Clark, effective lighting by Louise Guinard and delightful sound design by composer Creighton Doane. Director Ted Dykstra gets terrific performances out of this top-notch cast: Boyes is wonderful as the bossed around brother-in-law Reg; Reid steals many scenes as his busybody wife Sarah; Condlln is believably frustrated as the singleton sister Annie; Dennis gets lots of laughs as the kind but dim-witted Tom; Mennell shines in the role of the sharp-witted Ruth, and Schultz seems born to play the part of the cheeky, attention-seeking Norman.

While the plays can definitely be enjoyed individually, each installment informs and enriches the others so it's best to see all three to get the full benefit of Ayckbourn's brilliant plot and character development. Norman's drunken antics are more meaningful when viewed from multiple perspectives.

A hilarious, touching and infuriating story reminiscent of the most disfunctional of family dinners, The Norman Conquests is an utterly enjoyable comic adventure that is not-to-be-missed.

The Norman Conquests Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden play until November 16 at the Young Centre for the Arts. Visit soulpepper.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

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