Enjoy – Behind the Scenes

Damian Cruden, Artistic DirectorThe show now open is running smoothly. The first week was complicated by Gilly, who plays Mam (who talks a lot), having a severe throat infection. We gave her a radio mic for support and cancelled several rehearsals and a matinee to give her some recovery time. This throws up an intersting problem. Gilly had been ill in the second week of rehearsal however with only three weeks preperation we worked through it, we presumed it had passed and that it was only a little cold, which it possibly had been. Not so, it came back with a vengance as soon as she relaxed on the Sunday after opening. What should one do, have done?Time is always at a premium. Give up rehearsal and open when you are not quite ready or risk it and push on through with hope in your heart are the only options. We took the latter and very nearly paid the price. As it was only a few who had booked for the matinee were unable to rebook for another day but had we lost a couple of evening shows it could have cost us dearly. Not only that, had Gilly damaged her throat it could have impacted on her ability to work for some time to come. The voice is a sensative instrument and should be taken care of. The potential for things to turn out badly are great and the solution is what? More time and under-studies would be a great help, they would cost money and wouldn’t always be needed but the potential of losing several shows could be equally costly. With funding and support for the arts thin on the ground we continually end up in this dilemma. Roll on Panto our only defences being flu jabs, a wing and a prayer…oh and me in a frock!The slightly disrupted opening week now over means we can focus on developing the performances without worry on medical grounds. This is always an interesting time as actors find the extended truth that lies between them and their audiences. Each night will bring new discoveries, mostly occasioned by the audiences reaction to and as a result their interaction with the piece.The play is surprising, the final section is unpredictable for those who don’t know the play (the majority) and has been described as odd but fun, wierd, illuminating and even disturbing. Most of the reactions are very positive and Juliet and I are pleased with the results so far. The plays’ form develops and exposes the larger questions asked as much through how it communicates as through what it actually says. I can understand why an eighties audience struggled with it. Some say it was ahead of its’ time, I’m not so sure, rather it is out of its’ time. Bennett draws on various sources for inspiration, Orton and his black sexually charged humour set in domestic settings, Strindbergs’ The Dance Of Death for things Swedish and a couple at war trapped physically, mentally and emotionally, Kipplings’ Kim for the dislocated spy that spies on their own and Mr Kipling for references to bought cakes!Juliette and I will return to it tomorrow and Weds night to see how it is progressing. The ticket sales are very strong so something must be right about the production, word of mouth is so important when it comes to selling tickets in York.Damian CrudenCo-director and artistic director

Enjoy – Review (Northern Echo)

EnjoyBy Steve PrattTHIS is, apparently, one of Alan Bennett’s favourite plays and also one of his least-performed. Both things are understandable.Anyone expecting a cosy Northern comedy like he’s given us before will get a rude – very rude – awakening. This is Bennett in a dark and bitter mood, still hilariously funny, but there’s a seriousness to the comedy.You can also see why directors might shy away from Enjoy with its mix of social comment, farce, fantasy and adult comedy.Co-directors Damian Cruden and Juliet Forster are brave enough to tackle it head on. And did I enjoy Enjoy? You bet I did. This is one of the best things that the Theatre Royal has done for a long time.It does everything you can want of a piece of theatre – makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you think and answers the age-old question: can a dead man have an erection?(I told you it was rude).The Cravens are the last inhabitants of a Leeds back-to-back in the middle of a redevelopment area.Wilfred is half-blind and half-paralysed since a hitand- run accident. Wife Connie is forgetful and obsessed with toilets.They have a daughter who works in the sex industry and a son who may well be related to the rather masculine Ms Craig. She’s a Big Brotherstyle observer, sent by the council to record the daily lives of these ordinary folk before their house becomes little more than an exhibit in a museum.Peter Nolan and Gilly Tompkins are both superb as the Cravens, leading a cast that doesn’t put a foot wrong on Nigel Hook’s set, which delivers the final coup de theatre at the end.

Enjoy – Director’s Notes

Enjoy – Director’s notesI haven’t directed any Alan Bennett before, so when Damian Cruden asked me to co-direct Enjoy with him as my first production at York Theatre Royal, I didn’t really know what to expect – I had no idea this play would turn out to be such a gift. It plays with you: you think you are in one kind of play and then find out you are in a completely different one. On paper, one can wonder if it will really work, but as soon as it is performed it makes all kinds of sense. By turns it is funny, quirky, moving, mysterious, painful, utterly absurd, truthful and farcical. Farce at its best is like abstract art – it is surreal and extreme, the language of dreams, and yet it’s underlying truth means that we watch and however bizarre it becomes we still recognise that yes, that is how things are – and that is the beauty of this play.A large part of the action involves the silent observation by individuals sent from “the council” to document the way of life of the inhabitants of the “last back-to-backs in Leeds”. But what happens when people are observed in their everyday life? Do they continue to behave normally? Do they present how they wish to be seen? Do they genuinely believe this version of themselves? Or, do they find themselves becoming more honest? Does it become impossible to maintain the normal façade of day-to-day existence, with all the usual self-censorship and coping mechanisms in place when there is someone watching you? The play also explores our relationship to the past, our fascination and glorification of it. What elements of our history, personal and social, do we choose to preserve and idealise? What do we choose to edit out? What happens when we suddenly find our own lives have become part of history? Throughout rehearsals we have had more questions than answers about this play, but I think this has led to an intriguing result.Writing as a recent Alan Bennett convert, I would encourage you to come and judge for yourselves.Juliet Forster,Co – director