Talking
Heads ★★★★½
Durham Gala
Until Saturday 10th March
2018
Durham Gala
following last year's success with Educating Rita with an in-house production
of 3 of Alan Bennett's monologues that were originally written for TV. Each one
is seemingly unconnected and yet quintessentially British in tone. The delicate
humour of one of the country’s most important playwrights is allowed the space
needed in a well-crafted piece.
With an apparently simple yet well-designed set by Simon Wells, comprising of a bed, door and window, the words are given the opportunity to stand out. Three gifted actors held the attention of the Durham crowd with their tales of the awkward nature of real adult life.
With an apparently simple yet well-designed set by Simon Wells, comprising of a bed, door and window, the words are given the opportunity to stand out. Three gifted actors held the attention of the Durham crowd with their tales of the awkward nature of real adult life.
First up was A Chip In The Sugar.
An elderly mother is out with her son Graham when the mother slips. Her son
recalls how, when he went to see to his mother, an elderly man comes across to
assist. It turns out that it's an old flame from his mother's past. Pre-Dad
indeed. For a woman with limited memory normally, she seems to remember a
lot about their first encounter. Bennett then weaves a tale of the
problems of accepting that your elderly parents still have a life and
relationships. Add in a measure of elderly racism and mental illness and
despite the fluffy initial set up, there is a cutting examination to be
considered. Like all of the stories, this one leaves a mark on the audience. The
delivery by Ross Walton was very much in the Bennett style which fitted the
script well. If you can have "Shakespearean" as a style, then why not
"Bennettean"?
The first act concludes with Zoe Lambert as the disenfranchised Vicar's
wife Susan in bed Among The Lentils.
Internal mental and aspirational battles, with life style choices, the parishioners
and late-night shopping, torment Susan. Rather than using, say, a pop star as
the difficult role model, Bennett pours his quirky observations of middle
England into that world of hymns, Victoria sponges and flower
arrangements. Like all 3 monologues we have the regular gentle humour that
has the audience laughing as they join in on the joke. At one point the
audience burst into spontaneous applause as they were pleased at Susan’s response
to the request of the shopkeeper.
The final monologue saw the second act curtain raise
to reveal some really nice furniture and paintings for Soldiering On. Judi Earl was powerfully poignant as Muriel, a lady
who has just buried her husband. She reminisces how he loved to talk about the
farming machinery that he dealt with but said little about the family finances.
Bennett reveals a number of twists and turns in the mould of The Father as Muriel’s life changes
despite getting regular advice not to jump into any big changes.
Director Charlotte Westenra’s skill was to allow the
narration to be very natural. It felt like you could know the individuals. This
also gave the actors the freedom to respond to the nature of events. Hence when
a coat hook fell off, Zoe was able to deal with it, in the style of her
character.
Talking
Heads is a thoroughly absorbing trio of well-crafted pieces
of theatre. Recognisable, sympathetic and not covered in artificial sweeteners.
The younger members of the audience will have as much to reflect upon both the direction
Alan Bennett took and the clear, well-acted form of the presentation. A delightful
evening of theatre.
Review by Stephen Oliver
Tickets:
Talking Heads is at Durham Gala from
Tuesday 6th to Saturday 10thMarch, with tickets
priced at £15 or £12 for matinees.
For more information or to book
visit www.galadurham.co.uk
