Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads" monologues are described as being 'short stories'. With reference to "Her Big Chance" discuss how Bennett Is able to create this genre with what seems to be one voice.

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Rachael Hallas 11A                                                                                                        

Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads” monologues are described as being ‘short stories’. With reference to “Her Big Chance” discuss how Bennett Is able to create this genre with what seems to be one voice.

Introduction

After 30 years of a successful career of film, theatre, satire and television, Alan Bennett broke new dramatic ground with his series of monologues “Talking Heads”. It was a new and brave idea to have just one character talking, keeping an audience gripped by asking them to listen to one characters thoughts and feelings. There is no action and this is unlike a more conventional play.

Alan Bennett first appeared on stage in 1960 when he starred and co-authored the satirical review “Beyond the Fringe”.

Bennett’s writing frequently focuses on the everyday and the mundane: sea-side holidays, lower-middle class pretensions, obsessions with class, cleanliness, propriety and sexual repression.

Born in Yorkshire, Bennett’s ‘Englishness’ and ‘Northeness’ are evident to see and the characters he writes about are rooted in a particular social environment but the issues they raise are more of a universal appeal.

In “talking heads” each take gives the viewer privileged access to the innermost thoughts of an individual, who although we only hear his/her side of the story, frequently reveals more about himself/herself than intended. The characters are often deluded about themselves and the viewer usually knows and understands more than the character himself/herself.

The “talking heads” monologues are described as short stories. This is because

they have a plot and they also have secondary characters. The monologues are performed by a single character who weaves secondary

characters into the story by talking on the mannerisms, body language and

expressions of the other characters to show their bias views on other people and scenarios. We are tricked into believing we are watching more than one character and this makes it more interesting.

Section 2

The greatest similarity between each of the “talking heads” is that they are all marginalised characters. They are ordinary people on the edge of our society who are unnoticed in everyday life. They have no voice until Bennett gives them one.

We feel a mixture of feelings towards the characters, due to the tragic-comic style which Bennett adopts. The characters tell us things that they don’t realise and we find this amusing but are also sympathetic to them and their life. The characters are self-deluded and Bennett makes full use of this dramatic irony. For example, Irene in “The Lady of Letters” believes that corresponding is every citizen’s right. She had no life and no social life until she was imprisoned for harassment. The irony is that as soon as she is in prison, we see her become a changed person. She starts to enjoy life, her life becomes fuller and she starts to feel alive. She is one surrounded by other women, marginalised by society until she finds herself.

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Similarly, Graeme in “A Chip in the Sugar” is a middle aged man who retreats to his bedroom when he is depressed. He is lonely and he substitutes socialising for pornographic magazines. He also suffers from self-delusion and believes that his mother needs him. The irony is that the audience can see he depends on her.

Section 3

In an ordinary play or short story characters present themselves through actions, from description of speech, clothing, body movements, from how they express themselves and from how they act towards other characters. However, Lesley’s monologue depends on the narrative voice. ...

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