Enjoy at the Oxford Playhouse
Published Date:
05 September 2008
ENJOY is the title of Alan Bennett's dark comedy showing at the Oxford Playhouse later this month.Written in 1980 and set in Leeds, an ageing couple are living in the city's last back-to-back.
With the demolition of the area in progress, Wilf and Connie are soon to be re-housed in a brand new maisonette with a waste disposal unit and non-slip vinyl flooring. But, when a sociologist comes to observe them in their daily life normality takes a slide.
Mam tries to show the observer that they are acting completely normally, while they are clearly not.
She brings out the best china that they never use, an act brutally exposed by Dad. But this simple act of not doing what they normally do hides the fact that they really are an unusual family.
Everyone in the play is not what they first appear to be and that makes the whole experience thrilling and completely unpredictable.
The whole production is laced with memorable Bennett one liners and numerous laugh out loud moments. But like all classic Bennett, one minute you're laughing and the next you're gasping in shock.
Alison Steadman (Connie) a best-loved and most prolific actress is in the cast.
On stage, she created the role of the monstrous Beverly in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party, and starred in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, for which she won an Olivier Award.
Her films include Shirley Valentine, Clockwise and A Private Function, and Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet and Topsy Turvy.
Television work includes Fat Friends, Selling Hitler, The Singing Detective, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Pride and Prejudice and recent appearances include The Worst Week of My Life, Gavin and Stacey and Fanny Hill.
David Troughton (Wilf) whose father is Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton, is also known for his many TV appearances in favourites such as New Tricks, Dr Who, Midsomer Murders, A Very Peculiar Practice and Born and Bred, to name but a few.
His stage work is extensive having performed with the RSC and National Theatre.
The full article contains 351 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
04 September 2008 12:54 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Aylesbury