Enjoy is a comedy play written in 1980 by Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...

. An idiosyncratic view of working-class family life in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, a city in the north of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, it was one of the rare theatrical flops in Bennett's career.

An elderly couple living in one of the last back-to-back houses

Back-to-back houses

Usually of low quality and high density, they were built for working class people and because three of the four walls of the house were shared with other buildings and therefore contained no doors or windows, back-to-back houses were notoriously ill-lit and poorly ventilated and sanitation was of...

 in Leeds encounter a series of jolting surprises, not least when their son returns, as a council official in drag

Drag (clothing)

Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...

, and reveals that the council intends to demolish their house brick by brick, and reassemble it in the local museum, complete with its occupants.

Following a national tour, directed by Ronald Eyre

Ronald Eyre

Ronald Eyre was an English theatre director, actor and writer.Eyre was born at Mapplewell, near Barnsley, Yorkshire and he taught at Giggleswick School. He became a leading director for the cinema, opera, television and the theatre...

, it opened at the Vaudeville Theatre

Vaudeville Theatre

The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...

, in London's West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 on 15 October 1980, but in spite of the stellar cast of Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright

Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...

, Colin Blakely

Colin Blakely

Colin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...

, Susan Littler

Susan Littler

Susan Littler was an English actress who appeared in many television and stage productions in the 1970s and early 1980s, before her career was cut short by her premature death...

, Marc Sinden

Marc Sinden

Marc Sinden is an English theatre producer, documentary director and actor. His father is the actor Sir Donald Sinden.-Theatre:...

, Philip Sayer

Philip Sayer

Philip Sayer was a British actor. He worked for stage, film and television; and was probably best known for his role as Sam Phillips in the science-fiction horror film, Xtro .- Biography :...

 and Liz Smith

Liz Smith (actress)

Liz Smith, MBE is a British actress, best-known for her roles in the sitcoms The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family. She also appeared in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...

 (who replaced Joan Hickson

Joan Hickson

Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...

 during rehearsals), it closed on 6 December 1980.

Twenty-nine years later, a new production of Enjoy toured and then moved to the Gielgud Theatre

Gielgud Theatre

The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...

 in January 2009. This time the play was described as "an astonishingly prescient, blackly comic modern classic". Starring Alison Steadman

Alison Steadman

Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...

 and David Troughton

David Troughton

David Troughton is an English actor, best known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage.- Biography :David Troughton was born in Hampstead, North London. He comes from a theatrical family: he is the son of Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton, elder brother of Michael Troughton, and father...

, it reportedly took over £1m in advance ticket sales.