With the reveal of its 2012 programme, the Abbey has been criticized for playing it safe. Perhaps this is true and perhaps it is not, but the revival of Bernard Farrell’s Bookworms was certainly not a gamble, having earned its box office stripes in 2010, when it first took to the Abbey stage. And indeed, it being a mere ten months since its run, a revival might seem a bit hasty. But public demand cannot be argued with, and neither should it be underestimated. It may, however, be misguided.
The situational backdrop of Bernard Farrell’s middle-class farce is one that offers rich insight into a particular kind of social interaction: the book club. Farrell’s choice is a clever one, offering a snapshot of a certain time and class. However, one feels that it has more potential than Farrell exploits with his writing. It is set in a heavily post-Tiger community somewhere on the DART line, with (and perhaps this is a matter of personal taste) ‘recession’ mentioned too many times for it to retain impact.
Jim Culleton’s cast is the same with the exception of Donna Dent as the unrelentingly aggravating Jennifer. Marion O’Dwyer and Phelim Drew thoroughly inhabit their characters, O’Dwyer as Ann, the flustered hostess, and Drew as her husband Larry, the very reluctant host. O’Dwyer and Drew play off each other well, as a bickering couple that is recognizable while still being very funny.
There is an air of unresolved plotlines as the curtain falls; those that are tied up are done so with not-very-subtle flourishes. And while the play is a farce, and a comedy of manners, what it lacks is that sharp observational wit that makes such plays all the more comedic for its subtlety. The Abbey may be playing it on the safe side with this one, but so is Bernard Farrell.
Clara Kumagai
