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Image courtesy of The Glastone Theatre.

Traditionally, the Irish tendency is to react to angst, despair, tragedy, and hopelessness with an equal degree of humour.  In Irish comedy, the height of seriousness of situation coincides with the height of ridiculousness in action.  It’s not that the Irish don’t take anything seriously; it’s that they never take anything serious straight up.

SevenThirty Productions’ I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell marks the twentieth play John P. Kelly has directed since immigrating to Canada, and the seventeenth by an Irish author.  In this farce written by Bernard Farrell, five people attend a group therapy session led by an American facilitator.  They willingly lock themselves up overnight, away from the world, to work through their issues together.  What’s obvious is that each of them should be there.  What’s less obvious is why.  Everyone in the room is hiding something from the others.  One in particular stands out: is he completely psychotic, or the most sane of all?

As in any play of the “let’s put x people in a room and see how they get on” variety, I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell depends for its effect on strong characterization.  The playwright takes adequate trouble to establish reasons and causes for the behavior and attitudes of his characters.  We’ve all met people like these (and might possibly kick one if nobody were looking); they are characters one can relate to and be interested in.

From L to R: Chris Ralph as Charlie Fox, John Muggleton as Bobby Gould, and Kyla Gray as KarenPhoto courtesy of JessRawk on Flickr.

There is a war between artistic merit and the bottom line, and it is fought on the battleground of the Hollywood film studio.

Speed-the-Plow is prolific American playwright David Mamet’s satirical look at the film industry—an industry to which he is no stranger, with experience as a writer and/or director of such films as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Wag the Dog, State and Main, and Glengarry Glen Ross (based on the stage play that earned him a Pulitzer Prize); he has even written a book of insightful essays on movies and the industry (Bambi vs. Godzilla).  And yes, he worked for a while in pornographic film.

In this play, Bobby Gould (John Muggleton) has just been promoted to Head of Production at an unnamed Hollywood film studio.  Longtime associate Charlie Fox (Chris Ralph) comes into his office promising a sure deal—a limited-time offer to greenlight a script guaranteed to make money, with a big-name star ready to headline it.  Enter Karen (Kyla Gray), the temp standing in for Gould’s secretary. Karen becomes the object of a less-than-savoury gentlemen’s wager, but the tables turn when she gets her own idea of what would make a good movie. Gould is forced to decide between doing the “right” thing and making money, between passion and friendship.

Image courtesy of the Gladstone Theatre.

Adaptations can be tricky business.