A few months ago I was cast in the play Separate Tables by Terrence Rattigan and the other night I got to watch the 1958 film version. It was really quite interesting to see how they portrayed the character I’ve been working on for months and how the other characters evolved in the film.

The most interesting part though, was how the film script swapped lines between characters – completely changing the emphasis and meaning of the lines. In fact, the character I’m playing, Mrs Anne Shankland, was quite likable in the film. In the play, she is seriously flawed and has very few redeeming features, the same as her love interest, John Malcolm.

The story in the film revolves around 2 love stories – the one between Anne and John, and another between Sybil and Major Pollock. These stories are quite different and don’t really have anything to do with each other. In the play, the first love story runs its course during the first act and the other in the second act, 18 months later. They don’t come together at all.

Knowing the play as well as I do now, I found the film very fluffy and too nice. But then again, it is a 1950s Hollywood film (set in England but they decided to Americanise Anne and John), so I guess it makes sense that the film is ‘nicer’ for lack of a better word. I just found it all a bit odd because the playwright was heavily involved in writing the screenplay…

Nevertheless, I did quite like the film. I love classic Hollywood and I think the 1950s were one of the most glamorous eras – women were just beautiful then.

(And  I’ll admit to being kinda nervous about living up to the image of Rita Hayworth as I take on the same character as her… meep)