Bedbound does not do sugar-coating — Right from the outset, we become fellow-bedmates of this sad duo. The set when it is exposed to us dramatically is the claustrophobic world inhabited by a father and daughter trapped in a tiny bedroom with life-stained walls.
The daughter, stricken with polio as a child, talks incessantly and inhabits a fantasy world derived from a romantic novel. She has little choice but to listen and role-play the sad characters in her father's violent domineering life, the life of a furniture salesman.There is a violence in the need for a person to make a sale, whether it be Willy Lomax or the team in Glengarry Glen Ross, the urge to go one better is what drives this man to do what he did to get what he wants.
The Meaneys are powerful here — It is a very strong performance by Brenda, who had the more difficult of the two roles as she never got to move from the bed. Colm has not done theatre for some time, but what a presence he is. He stalks the stage like a caged beast. The dependency of their relationship is overpowering because both characters are incredibly vulnerable. These skilled actors and the words of Enda Walsh combine to create a tension that seeps into us all who watched. Superb. Should not be missed.
