The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 6 letter word SEPARATE TABLES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
E
P
A
R
A
T
E
T
A
B
L
E
S
More clues leading to the result SEPARATE TABLES
- Play filmed three times, four times possibly
- Part which young children learn in school play
- In a storm at sea, plebs screening rank drama
- , 19 Distinct columnar layouts, a hit on stage
- Film from second Beatles era, with tap-dancing
- Dramatic work, a repeat newly presented in mews
- Play different charts
- Play on divided boards
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a hit on stage" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a hit on stage = separate tables.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.