Alan Ayckbourn, author of the comic trilogy
"The Norman Conquests," has been called the "British
Neil Simon," but somehow, despite his trilogy’s successful
1975 Broadway run (starring Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentice),
Ayckbourn is not a household name.
The trilogy has not had a major revival for more than 25 years,
which makes the Brooklyn-based smatter theatre ensemble’s month-long
performances of the plays at the Phil Bosakowski Theatre in Manhattan
such a momentous undertaking.
Christina Cass, who founded the smatter theatre ensemble (no,
they don’t use initial caps) four years ago with Blake Strasser,
told GO Brooklyn that when Dan Patrick Brady (who plays the title
role) introduced her to the trilogy, she was struck by its hilarity
at the very first reading.
"I laughed," said the Park Slope resident. "I
laughed on the train. I never laughed so much. On the way home
I couldn’t stop reading. I would rush from streetlight to streetlight."
"The Norman Conquests" is a series of three plays –
"Table Manners," "Living Together" and "Round
and Round the Garden" – which collectively and individually
expose the romantic exploits of Norman and his extended family.
The central question that perplexes Norman, a full-time assistant
librarian and part-time gigolo, is how he can escape from his
family and successfully seduce his sister-in-law.
All three plays take place on the same weekend in Mother’s rambling
country house. The action of the plays is concurrent, so that
each play provides a unique perspective from which the audience
observes the machinations of Norman and his wife, Ruth; Ruth’s
sister Annie and her boyfriend; and Ruth’s brother Reg and his
wife, Sarah.
"Norman tries to seduce his sister-in-law [Annie] in a different
room of the house, and manages to seduce other people instead,"
Cass explained.
"Table Manners" takes place in the dining room. This
time it’s his wife’s brother and his wife, Sarah, who interfere
with Norman’s plans.
In "Living Together," Norman gets drunk on homemade
dandelion wine in the living room, and the shenanigans continue.
"Round and Round the Garden" finds Norman attempting
to seduce both his sisters-in-law – single Annie and married
Sarah – in the garden, where he also must dodge brother-in-law
Reg and Annie’s local suitor, Tom, the veterinarian.
"The Norman Conquests" is directed by Lise McDermott,
who directed the ensemble’s "smatter 2001," a full-length
original ensemble play performed at the Heights Players’ theater
last June.
Cass met Strasser, a Ditmas Park resident, 10 years ago when
they were both playing nuns in the Heights Players’ production
of "The Sound of Music." In the ensuing years, both
continued acting in local theater. (This season, Cass played
Terry, the alcoholic mother in the Heights Players’ "Side
Man.") Four years ago, they decided to expand their horizons.
"We weren’t getting cast in the roles we wanted to be cast
in," said Cass. Although Cass and Strasser managed to just
break even with their own productions, they at least had the
satisfaction of providing themselves with the roles they wanted,
and also producing their own original work.
The production of "smatter 2001" was pivotal because
it allowed them to "go back home," said Cass. It was
also the first time the Heights Players had rented their theater
to an outside group.
Although "people raved" over the production, Cass said,
"smatter 2001" did not draw the audiences they would
have liked, so they decided to do a revival of "something
recognizable" to increase awareness of the group.
"The Norman Conquests" is both a "massive undertaking"
and "a departure from what we normally do," Cass said.
This trilogy about a middle-class British family, doesn’t need
fancy sets and costumes, but it is structurally ambitious and
demands actors who can deliver hilarious dialogue spoken with
a British accent (which, said Cass, the cast has been studying
for months).
Cass believes Ayckbourn originally wanted the three plays to
run at the same time, perhaps having the audience move from room
to room. This proved to be practically impossible. Ayckbourn,
however, is coming closer to his goal with his two new plays,
"House" and "Garden," which will run concurrently
with actors racing between two sets at Manhattan Theatre Club
beginning April 27, the day "The Norman Conquests"
closes.
The smatter theatre ensemble hopes that with their revival of
a trilogy that has been under-appreciated in the United States,
they will be able to combine "their particular vision with
Ayckbourn’s proven pedigree."
"The Norman Conquests," presented
by the smatter theatre ensemble, opens April 4 at 8 pm with "Table
Manners." Subsequently, each of the three plays will be
performed on a rotating schedule on Wednesdays, Thursdays and
Fridays at 8 pm. Saturday marathons of all three plays begin
at 2 pm, and Sunday double features also begin at 2 pm. Tickets
for each play cost $15. A "Trilogy Passport" is $40,
and allows the purchaser to see the complete trilogy during a
Saturday marathon or at his or her leisure through April 27.
Tickets are free for New York City firefighters and police officers.
For a complete schedule, call (212) 560-4343 or visit www.smatter.org.
The Phil Bosakowski Theatre is located at 45th Street and Ninth
Avenue.
