It was more than fifty years
ago that Alan Bennett first burst upon the national consciousness. He was
appearing in a new stage revue at London's Fortune Theatre in which a quartet of
young men satirised the events of 1961. Two of them, Peter Cook and Jonathan
Miller, had honed their performance skills in the Cambridge University
Footlights, while Bennett and Dudley Moore were in the Oxford Review. Following
success at the Edinburgh Festival they brought the show, Beyond the Fringe, to
London. Writing for The Observer, Kenneth Tynan praised the performers leaving
until last :
"Mr Bennett, in manner the mildest of the quartet, is perhaps the most pungent
in effect. His man-to-man chat about Dr Verwoerd ('a bit of a rough diamond')
and his opponents ('crypto-Socialists') in the Foreign Office is wickedly
accurate; and one will not readily forget the oleaginous blandness with which Mr
Bennett delivers a sermon on the text: 'My brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am
a smooth man'."
These were early examples of Alan Bennett's gift for the dramatic monologue that
he continued in the television series Talking Heads, which he wrote alongside
his orthodox stage plays such as The Madness Of George III, The History Boys,
and The Lady In The Van. We have seen a number of successful productions of
Bennett's plays at the GWT, including The Lady In The Van which, with its
genesis from Bennett's own experience and the detailed observation of both
character and dialogue, is one of his plays that relates most closely to the
single-character pieces of Talking Heads, two of which are in the forthcoming
programme, alongside his short play A Visit From Miss Prothero. It is the
acutely observed detail and the surprising outcomes that bring a unique quality
to Bennett's characters.
Richard Eyre, in hospital for a slipped disc, called Bennett "The most perfect
of hospital visitors". "He did most of the talking, was funny, didn't offer
excessive sympathy, and didn't stay too long". In short he was considerate,
perceptive, amusing and knew when to leave. Everything we might expect from the
writer of Talking Heads.
BILL BRAY
Three classic plays by Alan Bennett, never before performed at GWT.
They are hilarious, sometimes sad, occasionally uplifting and all showcase
Bennett's powers of observation, comic timing and reveal a darker side of his
work too
In A Visit From Miss Prothero Mr Dodsworth, now retired from Warburtons, where
he was the mainstay of Management Systems, is content to potter, chat to Millie,
his budgie, and pursue an interest in cordon bleu cookery. However, a visit from
his one-time colleague Miss Prothero shakes his whole world.
In Her Big Chance Lesley is an actress who works hard at her craft but needs a
career leg-up. She thinks her big chance will come just after she's completed
the low-budget semi-porn movie she's currently shooting.
A Cream Cracker Under The Settee sees Doris's feisty independence leaving her
helpless on the floor where she spies a cream cracker under the settee. While
stranded, after "a fall", waiting for help she looks back on a life dedicated to
fighting such untidiness and dirt.
I have assembled an excellent cast, including Maurice Tripp, Sue Higginson,
Helen Gaston and - who can forget Rose from last season? - Mary Gibson.
Book early to avoid disappointment, because everyone loves an Alan Bennett play.
Director, JOHN WILSON |