The pause in the last quote also doubles as a time for the audience to picture a previous scenario, such as the buffet going over and causing Doris to fall.
Yet another significant use of pause is found at the end of the play, where Doris's last hope of rescue had gone. In the text it is not only a 'pause', but a 'long pause'; "Thank you. (long pause) You've done it now Doris. Done it now Wilfred."
This long pause is significant in the fact that it is Doris' last ever chance, gone, with no hope of redemption. By this point the audience should feel connected to Doris and pity her, thus this long pause will have CONSIDERABLE DRAMATIC EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE.
Flashbacks play a major role in the dramatic effectiveness of the play, they allow the audience to see why Doris is the way she is, let alone provide most of the dialogue in the play. All the flashbacks in the play are triggered by present stimulus. A typical example is when Doris appears after a 'go to black' in the hall. Doris' memory is stimulated and recalls the pram because that is where it was stored; "This is where we had the pram. You couldn't get past for it. Proper prams then, springs and hoods. Big wheels. More like cars than prams ... Wilfred spotted it in the evening post. I said, 'Don't lets jump the gun Wilfred."
Flashbacks in the play allow for variety in the text, maintaining the audiences attention by renewing the subject being discussed in the dialogue.
Alan Bennett's scripts are popular for many reasons, one of which is his excellent use of imagery, he has the ability to give an audience member a vivid picture of an object or a scene. "A cream cracker under the settee" is no exception to this, with several distinct lines devoted to imagery. One example is Doris' description of the pram, another is found towards the end of the play in another flashback; "I'd leave the door on the latch and go on to the end for some toffee, and when I came back Dad was home and the cloth was on and the plates out and we'd have our tea."
This description leaves a quaint and rather pleasant image in the mind of an audience, they realise the environment Doris was once in, allowing them to connect to her character. Imagery is essential in a good script, it maintains an audiences interest, allows them to enter Doris' world and see her perspective, thereby making the play more entertaining and dramatic.
Repetition, register and emotive language, though used separately in various parts of the script, can all be demonstrated in one very dramatic line; I am H.A.P.P.Y. I am not H.A.P.P.Y. I am un-H.A.P.P.Y. Or I would be."
On it's own it means very little, but for the audience who have just previously heard Doris talk about the negative aspects of retirement homes, which on stage, would be spoken with anger and hate, would find this very dramatic and emotive. The line would be spoken with a gradual decline of happiness, towing the audiences' along with it. Bennett has purposely made Doris say each individual letter in "Happy" and repeat it the three times, this adds emphasis and therefore increases it's dramatic effectiveness.
The play's title, "A cream cracker under the settee", is a curios one, but it does link in with the play. Throughout the play the audience is given a clear message that Doris has something of a grudge against Zulema because of her poor treatment of Doris. The 'cream cracker' is, in many ways, Doris' only way of ridding herself of Zulema. Doris finds the cream cracker (evidently under the settee) and realises that it's proof that Zulema is not fulfilling her duties; "I've only got to send this cream cracker to the director of social services and you'll be on the carpet. Same as the cream cracker. I'll be in Stafford house, Zulema, but you'll be in the unemployment exchange."
Later in the play Doris eats the cracker, this can be regarded as symbolism, what it symbolises can only be based on opinion, some may say it symbolises the destruction of Doris' last hope, while others may say it's the removal of her life. This uncertainty of it's meaning is good in terms of dramatic effectiveness, as it allows the audience to draw their own conclusions, which can be more enjoyable.
Bennett allows the audience to formulate their own opinions again at the end of the play. He ends the play with Doris, still on her own and the light fading. This understated ending is very much a cliffhanger. The audience are left with the big question 'does Doris die?'. This again adds to the dramatic effectiveness of the play.
I myself have seen a few other plays by Alan Bennett and have seen and experienced the same perfect drama. "A cream cracker under the settee" is indeed a fantastic example of how dramatic devices can be used to an extraordinary standard.
