Separate Tables

Separate Tables (1954) by British dramatist Terence Rattigan [1] (1911-1977). Two plays, Table by the Window and Table Number Seven set in a shabby but genteel hotel on England's South coast, dealing with love and scandal. The plays are about people who are driven by loneliness into a state of desperation.

The play had its premiere at the St James's Theatre in London on 22 September 1954.

Performance history in South Africa

1957: First produced in South Africa by Brian Brooke, directed by Leonard Schach(?*) with Dennis Price, Margaret Inglis, Diane Wilson,* in 1957. The play toured the then Transvaal and Southern and Northern Rhodesia with the The Reluctant Debutante.

1958: Directed by Leonard Schach for the Cockpit Players at the Hofmeyr Theatre, November 1958. In the cast were Connie Dix-Hart, Jane Fenn, Nigel Hawthorne, Margaret Inglis, John McKelvey, Eric Messiter, Zoë Randall, Daphne Riggs. Decor by Bruce Palmer.

1978: NAPAC production directed by Malcolm Farquhar at the Alhambra Theatre, Durban, from 12 August.

1984: A University of Cape Town Drama Department production was directed by Robin Lake at the Little Theatre from 18 August to 1 September, starring Belinda Koning, Mark Hoeben, Claire Berlein, Sue Mitchell and other students of the department.

1995: An amateur production in the Cape Town area was designed by Walter Hodges with Peter Manser in the cast.

Translations and adaptations

The 1958 film, with a few extra parts, was adapted for the screen by Rattigan. It starred Rita Hayworth, Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Burt Lancaster and Wendy Hiller.

Sources

Wikipedia [2].

Inskip, 1977. p 122.

UCT Drama Department theatre programme, 1984.

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

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