Review- Enjoy
September 2, 2008
Venue: The Lowry
Date reviewed: 3rd September, 2008
When Enjoy was first staged in 1980, it did not exactly turn out to be one of Alan Bennett’s biggest hit plays. It’s almost as if the themes of aged parents, the death of the community, prying governments and regeneration were too much for the audience to take in, alongside the slapstick humour.
However, today, not only is this brilliantly brittle piece socially relevant, but it’s also so beautifully performed that you cannot fail to appreciate the writer’s subtle observations.
Alison Steadman and David Troughton play Connie and Wilfred Craven, a quirky couple who live in the last house (literally) on a street in Leeds. As they wait for their home to be bulldozered and details of their new maisonette, there is a knock at the door. A Sociologist wants to observe their lifestyle and assess them, in order to recreate a ‘community’ in the new housing area.
From here on, this excellent play gets blacker and funnier at every twist and turn. Who is the grey suited note-taker? What does she really want? Mam and Dad open their door, allowing the stranger to view their lives, like the equivalent of a reality tv viewer.
She witnesses their daughter’s (Josie Walker) hectic lifestyle on the game versus their ignorance and Connie’s failing memory. Meanwhile, Dad sits in his chair bored rigid with his life; criticising educated folk, including his estranged son.
There is an excellent twist and the humour also lurches from knockabout in tone to deeply dark. But all the while, the laughs continue to flow freely. On the night I attended, the appreciative audience laughed their socks off.
But the great thing about Enjoy, is the fact that the play cleverly explores contemporary issues that affect us all, subtly and with real insight. Bennett does not try to make the humour easy to swallow. In fact, there are plenty of laugh-through-your hand moments, but that ultimately makes the play a richer, more rewarding experience.
Steadman and Troughton make a totally believeable couple, never once lapsing into sit-com style turns, to gain easy laughs. They embrace Bennett’s difficult material and invest their roles real poignancy. Richard Glaves is also wonderful as the visitor with a briefcase full of secrets. In terms of scene stealing, Carol Macready’s neighbour injects pace and shockingly darker elements into the proceedings via her stoic performance.
Thought-provoking, ferociously funny and full of surprises, (including Janet Bird’s clever set design) Christopher Luscombe’s excellent revival is well worth catching before London starts to enjoy it.
-Glenn Meads
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