Main House, Drama

Summer 1954

Terence Rattigan's Table Number Seven and The Browning Version

Summer, 1954.

Britain is changing. Nothing will ever be the same again.

The atmosphere at The Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, is marked by a blend of repressed emotions and post-war gentility. Each of the staff and guests has their own reason for seeking the solace of quiet anonymity, but trying to hide from the social and cultural change sweeping over the country is proving impossible.

Meanwhile, in the heart of the Midlands, the end of the school term brings to a climax the intrigues, deceptions and lies in the lives of its teachers. The ensuing implosion of classicist Andrew Crocker Harris’s career triggers the collapse of his marriage.

Terence Rattigan’s one act masterpieces Table Number Seven (from Separate Tables) and The Browning Version are paired for the first time, capturing one quietly momentous evening seventy years ago. Together, they confirm Rattigan as one of the great twentieth century chroniclers of the paradoxes of the human heart. Directed by Olivier and UK Theatre Award winner James Dacre, an ensemble cast will perform both plays, led by Olivier Award winner Nathaniel Parker and BAFTA winner Dame Siân Phillips.