Summer 1954 – Table Number 7 & The Browning Version
Presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Living Theatre Productions and starring Dame Sian Phillips and Nathaniel Parker.
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(Four Quartets, The Two Popes and Blue/Orange), an ensemble cast will perform both plays, led by Olivier Award winner Nathaniel Parker and BAFTA winner Dame Siân Phillips.
Multiple award winners Dame Siân Phillips, Nathaniel Parker and Lolita Chakrabarti lead an ensemble cast directed by James Dacre performing Rattigan’s most personal works which are paired for the first time to capture one quietly momentous evening seventy years ago. Together, they present Rattigan as one of the great twentieth century chroniclers of the paradoxes of the human heart
Completing the cast are Alexandra Dowling, Angela Jones, Jeremy Neumark Jones, Simon Coates, Richenda Carey, Kishore Walker, Pamela Miles, Fiona Tong, Rosalind Lailey and Bertie Hawes.
Nathaniel Parker is well-loved by TV audiences for playing the title character in the long-running BBC series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. As well as countless lead roles in television dramas, he has regularly appeared onstage for the RSC, including Henry VIII in the internationally acclaimed Wolf Hall and Bringing Up The Bodies in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in the West End and on Broadway.
In a career spanning eight decades, multi award-winning Dame Siân Phillips’ many memorable screen credits range from her BAFTA-winning role in the BBC’s adaptation of I, Claudius in 1976 to guest roles in New Tricks, Under Milk Wood, Casualty, and Lewis. Siân’s prestigious stage career has seen her nominated for Olivier Awards for Pal Joey, A Little Night Music, Cabaret and the title role in Marlene.
Lolita Chakrabarti OBE is an award-winning actress and playwright. Her adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi won her the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Play. Stage credits include: Gertrude, opposite Tom Hiddleston, in Hamlet (RADA), Fanny & Alexander (Old Vic), John Gabriel Borkman (Donmar Warehouse), and Free Outgoing (Royal Court). Most recently she starred in The Hunt (St Ann’s Warehouse, New York). Her TV credits include: Silo (Apple), Screw (Channel Four), Vigil (BBC) Showtrial (BBC), The Wheel of Time (Amazon), The Casual Vacancy (BBC1/HBO), Delicious (Sky), Beowulf (ITV), Jekyll and Hyde (ITV), Riviera (Sky), Criminal (Netflix) and Born to Kill (CH4). Returning to the city, Chakrabarti joined the University of Oxford’s Cultural Programme as a Visiting Fellow in 2021.

Where
Richmond Theatre Mon 27 Jan – Sat 1 Feb BOOK TICKETS
Everyman Theatre Cheltenham Mon 3rd – Sat 8th Feb
Oxford Playhouse –
Artspod Chats to Nathaniel Parker. Watch on YouTube