Enjoy

by Alan Bennett

Dad thinks everything will be better when the family moves. The social worker who calls to observe their lives turns out to be absent son Terry, idolized by Mam, in drag. Secretary daughter Linda, in reality a prostitute, breezes in, shattering Dad's illusions. The house is dismantled around them to be rebuilt in a park preserving the ideals of family life. Mam will be in a showcase whilst Dad is carted off to the geriatric ward.

77 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 1980

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alan Bennett is an English author and Tony Award-winning playwright. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. His readings of the Winnie the Pooh stories are also widely enjoyed.

Reviews

[Tiffany Rae]

Interesting play. Enjoy has many of the same themes you find in Bennett's other works, and provides a somewhat abstract view of the aging British working class. Somewhat stark as well as fairly obvious for its period, characters such as the daughter are what truly brought the play alive.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracking little Alan Bennett play, this one focusing very much on private life and what goes on inside the walls of a family house. There’s some super interesting stuff here and a lot of humour, including a memorable scene where the family isn’t sure if the patriarch is dead or not. Even with an erection.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting short play.