ALAN Bennett conceived this play as a drama, but by the time he saw it in the West End, having been banished from rehearsals, he realised it had been turned into a comedy and felt it no longer had anything to do with him.
That may well be so but NFP’s excellent production, directed by Helen Davison, seemed to me to have Bennett stamped loud and clear all over it, not only in the script but in the entire being of the main character. In Neil Gwynne’s more than capable hands MP George Oliver, ‘a socialist, but he doesn’t like people’, simply WAS Alan Bennett in his style of dress, owlish spectacles, rather apologetic manner and jaundiced views.
The play is wordy and demanded concentration, but it is so well written – albeit a shade too long - that the effort was more than worthwhile. Performances were first-class too, especially Sarah Haberfield as George’s wife, Polly, Sonia Collyer as her mother, Enid, and Noel Moran as fellow MP Brian Lowther.
I was delighted, if a little bemused, to see that when George’s Manchester constituency sent him a copy of their local paper it was our own esteemed publication. What a circulation area! And the jury is still out on the question of drama versus comedy.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemout Daily Echo