The Dining Room

A dining room is more than just a space—it’s where families come together, traditions take root, and generations leave their mark. Once a symbol of status and formality in upper-middle-class American homes, it was a place for structured meals, rigid etiquette, and family rituals. But as time passes and social norms evolve, so too does the way we gather, the role of the dining room shifting over time.

A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room is a poignant and witty exploration of these changes, told through a series of interwoven vignettes. Across time and households, we see moments of laughter, tension, celebration, and quiet reflection unfold at the dining table. Through birthday toasts, family confrontations, whispered secrets, and fading traditions, the play reveals how memory lingers in the rituals and relationships that shape us—how a single room can hold a family’s history.

Staged by the American Theatre Company in Brussels, this production…