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