Director James Dacre presents these two short dramas by Terence Rattigan under the banner title Summer , the date when the action is set. Reflecting the huge social shifts of the post-war period, Rattigan remains the master of portraying repressed emotion and barely contained feelings that quietly build to reveal underlying sadness and unexpected inner strength. Table Number Seven has rarely been revived; set in a Bournemouth boarding house where residents politely chat about the weather over dinner.
As the 'Major', Nathaniel Parker vividly capturing the loneliness of a gay man in a time when homosexuality was seen as a public menace.
He plays a hugely sympathetic character who struggles to live as he has "been made"; it is a beautifully nuanced performance. Reflecting the burgeoning changes in social attitudes towards homosexuality, Alexandra Dowling brings much interest to the role of conflicted daughter Sybil; her internal stuggles are palpable as her duty to her suffocating mother clashes with her genuine affection for her friend Pollock.
There's a whole world within an hour here which is touching, affecting and hopeful all at once. In rapid succession, he learns he has lost out on his pension, how little his pupils value him and that his heartless wife is seemingly in love with someone else.
Parker portrays a character propelled into soul-searching for a sense of self. Parker is quiet and sincere, stiffly maintaining his dignity in the face of so many challenges.
