Can a play be both hilarious and scary? That is the question which will be answered for Little Theatre audiences when Bernard Farrell’s timeless classic, I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell opens at the theatre in Athlone on Sunday February 28.
Original and provocative, funny and heartrending, the play caused a major sensation when first performed and launched the career of one of Ireland’s best loved living dramatists.
Bernard Farrell himself went on to further major hits with the likes of Happy Birthday, Dear Alice, Canaries, and Forty Four Sycamore, but arguably, nothing he has produced since has matched the sheer dramatic impact of Doctor Fell.
It’s the story of a group therapy session, moderated by the perky, ruthlessly efficient Suzy Bernstein. Couples and single people are supposed to come together in a non-threatening environment, discuss their hang ups and resolve any unhappy feelings.
That, at least, is the theory, but from the off, Farrell sets out to demolish the trappings of therapy and the pretensions of those who indulge in it. He does this largely through the character of Joe Fell, one of the strangest beings ever to inhabit an Irish stage.
From the start, Joe takes the group into ever more uncharted and dangerous waters.
His outbursts shock and terrify his fellow group members, and Suzy vainly battles to re-establish control as Joe provokes one group member after another into shocking revelations.
But what are Joe’s motives? Audiences are kept guessing about this until almost the very end, as Bernard Farrell unfolds one of the most enigmatic characters ever seen on this or any other stage. Along the way, of course, there are plenty of laughs as Farrell pokes fun at the pretensions and delusions of middle class Ireland.
There is a veritable gallery of unforgettable comic characters, from Roger, the hypersensitive, sexually confused therapy junkie, to the hilariously dotty Rita, obsessed with her 12 cats – named after the apostles – and a long and happy marriage that may never have happened.
There’s the flighty, endlessly giggly Maureen, and her psychotically jealous builder husband, Peter, all ripe pickings for Joe Fell to pursue his strange agenda.
Billy Nott is one of the Little Theatre’s most distinguished members and performers, and this is his first foray into the turbulent waters of directing. For his first production, he couldn’t have chosen a more challenging or rewarding vehicle. This play simply has to be seen to be believed. It ticks all the boxes by being a hilarious night out to boot.
Billy has assembled a very talented cast to perform this very exciting and entertaining production. Aileen Holly makes her Little Theatre debut as Suzy, while Jason Gill, last seen as Myles in The Colleen Bawn, takes the role of Joe Fell.
John McGlynn takes on the hilarious role of Roger with great aplomb, while Maria Griffin – who delighted audiences with her first appearance as Gert in Big Maggie – will be a further revelation as Maureen. The part of Peter, her ever-enraged husband, is played by another very talented newcomer to the Little Theatre, Albert Gillick.
There’s also a fantastic comic turn by Chrissie Keane, one of Athlone’s most talented character actresses, as Rita, and the cast is completed by the always enjoyable Ronan Flynn as Paddy, the salt of the earth caretaker of the building where the disastrous therapy session takes place.
If you’ve ever thought about going away for an encounter weekend, this play may change your mind, but at the very least, it will cheer you up immensely on these cold recession evenings.
I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell runs from Sunday February 28 to Friday March 5 at the Little Theatre in St Mary’s Place.
For more information or bookings call (090 ) 6474324.
