'Enjoy' at The Gielgud Theatre

Friday night and a trip to the theatre courtesy of Sharon and Eamonn (for which, thanks!) for Chris's birthday to see Alan Bennett's 'Enjoy' at the Gielgud Theatre. It's been rarely performed since it was written back in 1980 and on this occasion starred Alison Steadman and David Troughton. I had no idea what to expect (other than Bennett's lugubrious dialogue) so I sat back and relaxed, waiting to be acted at. And acted at I was.

I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it (hence the delay in blogging) but I enjoyed it, with top notch acting and a lovely little set, although the plot seemed to flounder a couple of times. The set was the living room of a classic back-to-back terrace house, essentially two walls and a carpet that marked the boundaries of the room which, set on a much larger stage, made the whole play feel a bit claustrophic. The lead characters have been married forever and lived in the house forever, know their place in the world and seem to live through their children, one of whom was banished from the house years ago and is no longer spoken about by the dad. It all had a very odd feel and was a world I recognised, more from my Grandparents than my parents, but that world was real.

Of course, it has to have twists and turns, shocks and surprises, but I'm not sure that what was shocking in 1980 is still shocking.

The son (disowned and banished by the father) appears early on as a silent witness to life in the tenements of Leeds that are being demolished. Of course, he's now a woman, but it was so obvious who he really was within seconds of his appearance. The daughter is lauded as being a personal secretary who travels all over the place but is clearly a prostitute and not ashamed of it. She's also a sex model and off to marry a rich man at the drop of a hat - which falls through, of course. Interestingly, it's the mother who recognises all of this and takes it in her stride while the dad doesn't get it - but, then again, Alan Bennett always writes strong women.

There's more, of course, like the yob who looks at porn with the dad but the actor's just a little bit too posh to pull off Leeds-yob convincingly (but it's his first West End role so he'll learn). There's the next door neighbour who plays at being the wise woman but has no real idea what she's talking abut when they think the dad has died and they have to wash his corpse. All life is here.

I don't know why I enjoyed it - I can't point to anything in particular - but I did, and it's kept me thinking about it and reconsidering my views so it's lodged in my mind for some reason. It's not on for long so if you get the chance go and see it.

PS: um, yes, I did nod slightly towards the end of the first half but I'd had a hard, tiring week... that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!