By Elena LynchLiving Together is the story of what happens in the course of one weekend in the living room of the family home of the siblings Reg, Ruth and Annie. Living Together is the second in Ayckbourn’s Norman Conquests trilogy, though in fact all three plays happen concurrently. Each play exposes the emotional tensions and old grievances which are aired in just one room of the siblings’ house, over the same weekend. Through all three plays Ayckbourn builds up a sophisticated comedy of manners and a compelling picture of the family and their myriad partners. However, each play is also intended to stand alone and the result is an occasionally confusing but sharply focused comedy of confusion and manners.
To give Annie some rest from looking after their ill mother, Reg and his wife Sarah have come down for a weekend, disrupting the romantic plans made by Annie with her sister Ruth’s husband, Norman. It gets even more complicated. After an obscene phone call the very convincingly drunk Norman (Joe O’Connor) makes to Ruth (Emily Bazalgette), she turns up too, and combined with the presence of Annie’s other love interest, their slow-witted neighbour Tom, the scene is set for Norman to charm his way into his ‘conquests’.
Ayckbourn’s writing is at his acid best, and the cast and director realise the scenario well with fine comic timing. The action flowed well thanks to a strong cast; a shrieking cat-fight between Annie (Helen Fisher) and Sarah (Thea Warren) was a highlight. The interaction between Reg (Tom Richards) and Tom (Chris Carter) also stood out; both had good stage presence and weren’t afraid to stay static and play off the sheer awkwardness of their relationship. This is pre- The Office stuff but is not without its cringes: Carter especially delivers with a gormless charm, though the play shows its age in Tom’s hapless but vaguely sinister attempts to physically threaten Annie, which certainly wouldn’t make it into a modern comedy.
Living Together
