Barry White's lustful, droning, tones boom out around the auditorium to herald the start of proceedings at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, this week, leaving members of the audience in no doubt they are being whisked back to the early 1970s.

There could be no better choice of music as White's half-spoken, half sung delivery was, so it's claimed, an essential part of the aural armoury of any suburban smoothie attempting seduction on the sofa 40 years ago.

Not that the main character in Table Manners, the irrepressible assistant librarian Norman, is any sort of obvious Lothario. But his lust for women is such that he describes himself as 'a gigolo trapped inside a haystack'.

Table Manners is, of course, one of the much loved Norman Conquests trilogy from the pen of Alan Ayckbourn. First staged in 1973, it's one of his best-loved plays, performed regularly throughout the world by professional and amateur groups alike.

Most keen-theatre goers will have seen a version at least once - this was the third in my personal tally - but, like repeat showings of Dad's Army, you can never tire of watching such gems again, always finding something fresh and pleasing amid the familiar goings-on.

This version of Table Manners, which opened in Windsor on Monday, is in the dependable hands of production company talking Scarlet.

The action is set in July 1974 and revolves round the goings on in the dining room of a middle class home in the country, where six members of a disparate family come together in a mish-mash of false bonhomie and resentment.

At the centre of it all is Norman, somehow managing to be irritable and loveable at the same time, and played to perfection by David Callister, formerly a familiar face in ITV's The Bill.

He uses the considerable comedy experience he has gained as a much-loved stalwart of Ray Cooney's farces to great effect, managing to weave the more overt and outrageous influences seamlessly with the more subtle nuances of Ayckbourn's writing.

The revelation that stuns the gathering is that Norman has arranged to go off on holiday - to East Grinstead of all places - with poor, put-upon dutiful Annie, the Cinderella of the family who spends her days caring for bed-bound mother and longing for a spark of passion from the only man in her life, dull and clueless vet Tom, a man with the charisma of a carthorse.

The Theatre Royal, Windsor
The Theatre Royal, Windsor

Jo Castleton portrays patient Annie perfectly, the frustration of her predicament obvious in her every mannerism, while Ben Roddy as Tom is equally convincing as the awkward and mild-mannered would-be suitor.

Attempting to keep the family in order - right down to insisting where they should sit at the dinner table - is the slightly-neurotic and bossy Sarah, splendidly played by Emmerdale actress Natasha Gray.

Her somewhat put-upon husband Reg is acted by Marcus Hutton, who relies on his extensive TV, film and stage experience to ensure his portrayal is spot on.

The final member of the cast is Anna Brecon, familiar to Emmerdale fans as Lady Tara, a role for which she won the best newcomer title at the National Television Awards. She slots in neatly as career-minded, short-sighted Ruth, Norman's wife.

This is a joyful and uplifting version of a treasured piece of British theatre, brilliantly performed with reverence and a masterful sense of comedy timing from all involved.

Watch for the lovely touch right at the very end when Sarah orders Annie to get into the right place in the line-up for the curtain call!

Here's hoping the company stages the other two plays to complete the trilogy.

Table Manners is at The Theatre Royal, Windsor, until Saturday October 4. Contact the box office on 01753 853888 or theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk.