The Norman Conquests (1978)

The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. The small scale of the drama is typical of Ayckbourn. There are only six characters, namely Norman, his wife Ruth, her brother Reg and his wife Sarah, Ruth's sister Annie, and Tom, Annie's next-door-neighbour. The plays are at times wildly comic, and at times poignant in their portrayals of the relationships between six more or less unhappy characters.

Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. Table Manners is set in the dining room, Living Together in the living room, and Round and Round the Garden in the garden. Each play is self-contained, and they may be watched in any order. Some of the scenes overlap, and on several occasions a character's exit from one play corresponds with an entrance in another.

Annie (Penelope Wilton), the youngest of three siblings, lives with her invalid mother in the old family house. Her brother Reg (Richard Briers) and his wife Sarah (Penelope Keith) arrive to take care of mother while Annie gets away for a holiday. But soon Sarah finds out that Annie has planned to go away with Norman (Tom Conti) for a "dirty little weekend." Sarah insists that Annie cancel her plans–in part concerned at the effect it will have on Annie's would-be boyfriend Tom (David Troughton), but mainly because Norman is married to Annie's sister Ruth (Fiona Walker).

Sarah and Reg insist on staying for the weekend to look after mother, and to keep Annie from sneaking off with Norman. Norman–his hopes dashed–seeks comfort in a large bottle of nettle wine, finally passing out drunk on the carpet. Tom–not quite comprehending what's going on, or what he should do about it–hangs about the house looking bewildered. Finally, Ruth is called in to collect Norman, and the atmosphere becomes thick with recriminations. Norman, once he sobers up, sets about to not only win back the affections of Annie, but of Sarah and Ruth as well.

Norman, an assistant librarian and self-confessed "three-woman-a-day man" is no ordinary gigolo. While hardly handsome (Annie describes him as "resembling a badly built haystack"), he is irrepressibly charming, and has an uncanny ability to sense other people's feelings and play them to his own advantage.

Since the action moves from room to room, each play, showing the action in just one room, unfolds like a comic jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces that are later filled in by the other two plays.



Three plays by Alan Ayckbourn, interwoven in plot and time, giving different views of the same weekend. The action takes place in the family home, now occupied by Annie. Norman tries to bring a little happiness to his wife, Ruth, his sister-in-law, Annie, and their sister-in-law, Sarah.





In Annie's living room. Upstairs is her demanding, invalid, mother. Annie's chatty brother Reg and his anal-retentive wife Sarah arrive to give Annie the weekend off, little knowing that she's arranged an assignation in East Grinsted with Norman, the husband of Ruth, Reg and Annie's successful sister. Their plans go awry and Norman stays there for the weekend, trying for a grope here or there with Annie. Ruth also arrives unexpectedly, so Norman flirts with her as well, while Sarah tries vainly to keep things organized and the dim veterinarian neighbor Tom comes by the see Annie and chat. As people pass in and out of the sitting room, Norman even makes a pass at Sarah.





In Annie's garden on a weekend she is supposed to go off for a secret tryst with her brother-in-law, Norman. Annie's gotten tired of waiting for dim veterinarian neighbor, Tom, to sweep her off her feet. Her brother Reg and wife Sarah arrive to care for Annie and Reg's mum, so Annie can leave. Norman shows up, hiding in the bushes, and before he can signal Annie, he's spotted and has to pretend he's come to visit. Tom pops round for food, and Norman's wife, the cool and tough Ruth, comes to visit mum. In the garden, Norman tries to spirit Annie away, Reg and Tom speculate on who Norman's got as his "bit on the side," and Ruth sunbathes. Will peace ever return to the garden?

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