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The Norman Conquests
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Narrated by Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres and Full Cast
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Start ListeningDescription
Ayckbourn’s celebrated triology The Norman Conquests - three hilarious and poignant plays depicting the same six characters in one house over one weekend, namely Norman and his romantic follies.
Table Manners:
England’s famous seducer of other men’s wives lays siege to his sister-in-law in the first “battle”. A middle-class family trying to have a pleasant country weekend is no match for Norman, who horrifies everyone by doing exactly as he likes.
Living Together:
In the second “battle” Norman gets drunk on homemade wine – and all hell breaks loose. He unleashes his merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests and even his most formidable opponents go down in defeat on the drawing room rug.
Round and Round the Garden:
In the third “battle” the setting is Mother’s overgrown English garden, where something more troublesome than brambles lurks among the roses. Havoc ensues as this satirical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion.
L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performances featuring:
Rosalind Ayres as Sarah
Kenneth Danziger as Reg
Martin Jarvis as Norman
Jane Leeves as Annie
Christopher Neame as Tom
Carolyn Seymour as Ruth
Table Manners:
England’s famous seducer of other men’s wives lays siege to his sister-in-law in the first “battle”. A middle-class family trying to have a pleasant country weekend is no match for Norman, who horrifies everyone by doing exactly as he likes.
Living Together:
In the second “battle” Norman gets drunk on homemade wine – and all hell breaks loose. He unleashes his merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests and even his most formidable opponents go down in defeat on the drawing room rug.
Round and Round the Garden:
In the third “battle” the setting is Mother’s overgrown English garden, where something more troublesome than brambles lurks among the roses. Havoc ensues as this satirical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion.
L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performances featuring:
Rosalind Ayres as Sarah
Kenneth Danziger as Reg
Martin Jarvis as Norman
Jane Leeves as Annie
Christopher Neame as Tom
Carolyn Seymour as Ruth
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
The Norman Conquests
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Narrated by Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres and Full Cast
Description
Ayckbourn’s celebrated triology The Norman Conquests - three hilarious and poignant plays depicting the same six characters in one house over one weekend, namely Norman and his romantic follies.
Table Manners:
England’s famous seducer of other men’s wives lays siege to his sister-in-law in the first “battle”. A middle-class family trying to have a pleasant country weekend is no match for Norman, who horrifies everyone by doing exactly as he likes.
Living Together:
In the second “battle” Norman gets drunk on homemade wine – and all hell breaks loose. He unleashes his merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests and even his most formidable opponents go down in defeat on the drawing room rug.
Round and Round the Garden:
In the third “battle” the setting is Mother’s overgrown English garden, where something more troublesome than brambles lurks among the roses. Havoc ensues as this satirical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion.
L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performances featuring:
Rosalind Ayres as Sarah
Kenneth Danziger as Reg
Martin Jarvis as Norman
Jane Leeves as Annie
Christopher Neame as Tom
Carolyn Seymour as Ruth
Table Manners:
England’s famous seducer of other men’s wives lays siege to his sister-in-law in the first “battle”. A middle-class family trying to have a pleasant country weekend is no match for Norman, who horrifies everyone by doing exactly as he likes.
Living Together:
In the second “battle” Norman gets drunk on homemade wine – and all hell breaks loose. He unleashes his merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests and even his most formidable opponents go down in defeat on the drawing room rug.
Round and Round the Garden:
In the third “battle” the setting is Mother’s overgrown English garden, where something more troublesome than brambles lurks among the roses. Havoc ensues as this satirical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion.
L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performances featuring:
Rosalind Ayres as Sarah
Kenneth Danziger as Reg
Martin Jarvis as Norman
Jane Leeves as Annie
Christopher Neame as Tom
Carolyn Seymour as Ruth
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Reviews
While this is not the top of Ayckbourn's portfolio, it does crackle with witty dialogue, much of which I didn't appreciate as much when I watched it as when I read it. The usual set up of a dysfunctional family tearing themselves apart over trifles, expanded in typical Ayckbournian fashion to retell the same story in three different locations. In each of the three plays, we see a different slice of a weekend, which means we get to see the story play out in different ways through different eyes. Ayckbourn should be a must read for any aspiring playwright, because he demonstrates so clearly what a difference location makes in a script, and also what a difference point of view can make.
Rating: 4Nicely crafted trilogy of plays, the same events viewed from three different vantage points; what seems a pat and somewhat dated ending for the first gets increasingly complicated until the third run through complicates the sexual politics that have gone before.
Rating: 4