Summer 1954 - Table Number Seven/The Browning Version

Summer, 1954. 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. Britain is changing. Nothing will ever be the same again.

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 20th-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 (Inspector Lynley) and BAFTA winner Dame Siân Phillips.