The Home of Compántas Lir

I Do Not Like Thee, Dr.Fell :Six people gather in a locked room for Encounter Therapy that promises to probe their lives. They get more than they bargained for when Joe Fell savagely exposes their real social and sexual secrets in this send-up of American group therapy.

The cast of Dr Fell, which has already won a horde of acting prizes so far this year, features Ruth O’Driscoll as the therapist Suzy, Dermot Hession as Joe, and Paddy Greaney, Vincent Moran, John Heneghan, Mary McCarthy, and Liz Hession making up the remainder of the troupe.
The play, written by Bernard Farrell, but directed for Compántas by Philip Cribbin, is a black comedy that deals with the happenings at an all-night group encounter where Suzy, the American group co-ordinator, and her clients spend the night, in her own words, “in search of inner knowledge, of ourselves, and of others.”
Joe Fell, a member of the group, thwarts her efforts at every opportunity and in the process he mercilessly exposes the foibles of his fellow clients. Roger, a narcissian artist, is a veteran of encounter sessions in Berlin, London, Paris, and Oslo, as part of his “odyssey of self-discovery.”
Peter, a builder of select bungalows, is attending ostensibly because his wife, Maureen, is “highly strung.” He has some unresolved issues while Maureen, and while he initially appears docile and subservient, he comes into his own as the action unfolds.

Rita, a hypochondriac cat-lover, is wrapped up in her own world with memories of her imaginary husband. Finally there is Paddy, the group attendant, who represents normality and considers the various clients who attend those sessions to be “weirdos.”

“It’s a fine play,” notes Compantas director Philip Cribbin. “It sends up these pseudo-therapy groups and the person playing the therapist is this very organised, gung-ho, American. One of the clients that comes to the session is this chap Joe who turns out to be something of a saboteur.

“As the play develops we find he has come with the express intention of scuttling the session because of a personal grievance. The play is extremely funny and very well written, and there’s a very good balance between the laughter and a sadness that’s never very far away.”

While the play is more than 30 years old, its humour has not staled or dated in the least, Cribbin asserts.

“It’s as relevant today as ever,” he says. “Those kind of do-gooding, life-skill teachers, and therapists are still with us. In the past few weeks, we’ve performed the play in, Laois, Claregalway, Cavan, Kildare, Doonbeg, and Roscommon and it went down a bomb so it obviously still works as well as ever.”

Playwright:Bernard Farrell

First Performed : Due to appear on Saturday March 6th 2010 Kildare

Most Recent Performance : Still In Production

Cast :

Joe Fell: Dermott Hession
Rita : Liz Hession
Suzy Bernsteen: Ruth O'Driscoll
Roger : Vincent Moran
Peter : John Heneghan
Maureen: Mary McCarthy

Crew :

Producer/Director : Philip Cribbin
Stage Manager:
Set:
Lighting: Frank Moran, Adrian Moran
Sound: John Keane
Costumes: Jennifer Donaghy, Celia Fleming
Make-up: Ann Moran, Síle Mannion
Props :
Promoter :

Photos:  http://www.compantaslir.ie/component/option,com_gallery2/Itemid,44/?g2_itemId=1030