BBC Play of the Month Separate Tables (1965–1983) Online

Terence Rattigan has very quickly become one of my favourite playwrights, his dialogue is so intelligent, witty and meaty, his characterisation so dynamic, complex and real and the storytelling so beautifully constructed.

Along with 'The Winslow Boy' and particularly 'The Browning Version', 'Separate Tables' is a perfect example of Rattigan at his best, epitomising everything that he most excelled at as detailed previously in my review for 1985's adaptation of 'The Browning Version' (also part of the Terence Rattigan Collection available on DVD).

So far seen is the excellent 1976 adaptation of 'The Winslow Boy' by Eric Porter and Alan Badel, the very good, if inferior to the Michael Redgrave film (a big ask as that is one of the finest adaptations of any of Rattigan's plays) 1985 adaptation of 'The Browning Version with Ian Holm and Judi Dench and this magnificent 1970 version of 'Separate Tables'. For me, so far, it is the standout of the Terence Rattigan Collection, which if you love Rattigan is an essential buy.

Production values are handsome if kept simple rather than nothing too fancy or drab. Even better is Rattigan's brilliant writing, which has so much intelligence, meaty complexity, emotional impact and the odd bit of humour (though much of the play bases itself around a serious subject). As well as clever, consummate storytelling, with the most involving pacing of the Terence Rattigan Collection so far despite being the earliest of the three and one of the earliest on the entire set and attention to characterisation that seamlessly captures the essence of Rattigan's play, more so than the performances of 'The Winslow Boy' and 'The Browning Version'.

Can't go wrong with the performances either, with Eric Porter even more splendid than he was in 'The Winslow Boy' (of which he was one of the highlights) and Geraldine McEwan gives one of her best performances here which shows enormous range. Excellent support too from Pauline Jameson, Cathleen Nesbitt and Annette Crosbie as well.

In conclusion, truly magnificent, especially for the writing and the performances, and of the Terence Rattigan Collection DVD set so far this was the standout. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A bit of an embarrassment for me here, while and after watching this simply wonderful version of Terence Rattigan's famously successful play and movie. The joy was in watching the performances of the usual cartload of incredibly brilliant English actors who seem to populate all such offerings. I won't say anything more about them except that their performances are so uniformly excellent that it is hard to imagine this play being done any better, this also because the TV version is imaginatively photographed and directed. And now to the embarrassment.

I had only ever seen SEPARATE TABLES once before, and that in the classic 1958 film version starring Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, David Niven, Deborah Kerr and Wendy Hiller, all estimable actors (indeed, Niven and Hiller won Academy Awards for it), all but perhaps Ms. Hiller major Hollywood stars, and all at the top of their form. What I had totally forgotten was that when the play was first produced, and for most if not all subsequent productions, the four leading 'romantic' roles were intended to be acted by the same two performers. When the play first hit Broadway, those four roles were played by two great British stars, Eric Portman and Margaret Leighton. They did not do this in the film version because 1) it may have been too noticeable to the audience that the leads in both stories were played by the same actors, and 2) in a pretty talky film based on a pretty talky play, the division of those four roles between four major film stars was surely seen as a greater box-office enticement to the general public on both sides of the ocean. So, I had forgotten all of this by the time this 1970 BBC telecast came my way in 2016. I knew from the IMDb cast listing that Eric Porter played the Major and Geraldine McEwan played the repressed daughter of a domineering mother in the second play, but since I didn't recognize many of the other names in the cast, when I watched it I simply thought I had missed the names of the leads in the first half of the play at the start of the show, and I eagerly awaited learning who they were when the final credits rolled. Well, when they did roll, I exclaimed rather loudly (although I was watching it by myself) "My God!" as I suddenly realized that the leads in both halves of the play were performed by Eric Porter (not to be confused with Eric Portman, dead by 1970) and Geraldine McEwan. I could see the former, upon contemplation, doing both, as the Major has a military-style mustache and tousled hair (both graying) and a standard British military bearing, whereas the character played in the first half is somewhat younger, clean-shaven, his hair regularly combed and dark, and his voice a bit less upper class, although the characters and interpretation of same were nothing alike, but Ms. McEwan's assumption of both roles just astounded me, still does, and will likely do so for all of my remaining days. Looking at her glamorous aging model with the low sexy voice in the first play, I could not imagine how that same actress could appear, apparently sans all make-up and with what appeared to be an entirely different and bedraggled body and countenance in the second half. Mr. Porter's characters were both at least dynamic and outgoing in a certain kind of way, but those played by Ms. McEwen were as diverse as if she had been doing Auntie Mame in the first half and the deaf mute in JOHNNY BELINDA in the second half. An absolutely amazing transference of personalities in voice, appearance and general demeanor in the course of 90 minutes. I've never quite seen its like, not even from Peter Sellers in DR. STRANGELOVE (which is the closest parallel I can think to it). And then I recalled that the last time I'd seen Ms. McEwan (a noted Shakespearean as well) was in the PBS series of Miss Marple adventures about a decade back, and that it was amazing how easily she had so easily morphed into yet another persona for that series.

This is a play that fairly rivets you once you let yourself get into it, an ensemble acting opportunity rarely afforded this particular kind of acting style anymore, and it simply could not be better performed than it is here. Bravo to one and all!

"Separate Tables (1970)" is a jewel of ensemble acting. Every character is played superbly, and it is a joy to see the subtleties unfolding. Actually, Separate Tables is two stories, involving the same setting and people, minus two characters in the second half. I have long admired Eric Porter, and appreciated him greatly in his dual roles here — but Geraldine McEwan was a surprise, a revelation. I had seen her only in previews of "Agatha Christie's Marple", where she played the title character, and was turned off by the mincing quality I seemed to detect. But here, in dual roles like Eric, she reveals herself as an actress extraordinaire, able to portray insidiously repugnant qualities, and the most shining qualities of spirit.

Another character surprises as well, moving courageously from personal darkness into the light: Miss Cooper (portrayed by Annette Crosbie), moving others with her into the light most gallantly.