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 |