RIALTO CHATTER: Acclaimed 'NORMAN CONQUESTS' to Make Broadway Bow in April?

Theater News Online is reporting that Alan Ayckbourn's well regarded comic trilogy "The Norman Conquests," will open this April at Circle in the Square. The Norman Conquests is comprised of three plays - Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden.

'Conquests', directed by Matthew Warchus, comes to New York by way of Kevin Spacey's Old Vic in London, where it was a sellout for months. Spacey is the Director of the Old Vic. The Old Vic

The three plays center on a sexually omnivorous librarian, Norman. Over the course of a weekend, Norman manages to seduce his sister-in-law, his brother-in-law's wife and, in the end, his own estranged wife.

Each play is set in a different part of the same house and examines the same events from different angles.

Lead producer for "The Norman Conquests", Sonia Friedman also told TNO that the entire Old Vic ensemble cast, Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter and Amanda Root will be making the trip to New York.

Press notes for the Old Vic production described the acclaimed performances as "the interconnecting triptych of plays, Round and Round the Garden, Table Manners and Living Together follow the same six characters, Norman, his in-laws and the local vet over a summer weekend, in an English Country house.

Believing it his mission in life to make women happy by showering them with love, Norman (Stephen Mangan) makes the most of every opportunity to seduce his sister-in-law, Annie (Jessica Hynes), charms his brother-in-law's wife, Sarah and woo his wife Ruth (Amelia Bullmore) during this disastrous weekend of squabbling, eating, drinking and fondling.

Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden are ingeniously structured to allow each play to be enjoyed independently or as a trilogy in any combination. Together they create a fascinating, hilarious puzzle, which weaves a masterful web of interconnecting secrets and desires. With his inimitable wit and compassion, Ayckbourn reveals the frustration and disappointments which bubble beneath the surface of a family's relationships and brings to light their thoughts on sex, marriage, love and loneliness.

Alan Ayckbourn is one of Britains's most popular and prolific playwrights, with 70 full-length plays to his name, which have been translated into more than 35 languages. These multi-award winning names include Absurd Person Singular, recently revived in the West End plus Just Between Ourselves, A Chorus of Disapproval, Woman in Mind and House & Garden to name but a few".

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For more on the Old Vic visit, www.oldvictheatre.com.