Bedtime Story, by Sean O'Casey
Burton Taylor Theatre, 9.30, Tue 13th-Saturday 17th 2001

The most surprising thing about Bedtime Story by Sean O'Casey is perhaps that it is only about 35 minutes long. Although director Ian McKinney and his cast make these minutes quite funny and entertaining, one cannot avoid a little disappointment about the lack of an ending - which O'Casey simply does not provide.

John Jo Mulligan finds himself in a situation with which his pious conscience cannot cope: more or less against his will, he has spent a night with the cunning seductress Angela. Full of remorse, and dreading the ruin of his reputation, he tries to get rid of her, fearing that his pal Daniel or his landlady Miss Mossie might get to know. Angela sees her chance, turns gold-digger and does not leave before relieving John of a considerable amount of money. When John runs after her to retrieve some of his property, Miss Mossie spys him and jumps to the conclusion that he must be a somnambulist, or suffer from some other severe disturbance. Thus she employs Daniel to cope with the desperate John, while phoning the police and a doctor. What becomes of John in their hands, we will never know…

Ian McKinney does not present the audience with any experiments. His is a straightforward production of this small comedy of character - loud, fast and flat. James Roebuck plays the main character, John, as the personification of pious self-pity, whose fate is well deserved. More self-irony can be sensed in Claire Griffin's performance of Angela; Robert Wells as Daniel remains a bit pale. A cheeping, bird-like weird Miss Mossie is delivered by Lisa Thiel.

Only got half an hour free to spend at the theatre? You could do worse than catch this quick comedy at the BT.

Michael Sommer, 14 / 2 / 01