“A cream cracker under the settee” - Production Analysis
The production is introduced to us at the start with a slow, lonely atmosphere. This is portrayed through the soft music, and the actual layout of the scene. My aim of this coursework is to analyse the production "A cream cracker under the settee" and show how it actions help support the character's words and situation. The production is based on an old woman named Doris, on the verge of being moved to a nursing home against her own will. She is portrayed to us as a bitter, stubborn old woman who feels her space is being invaded by her carer Zulema. The true context of who she really is, is shown later on in the production, and it is very different from the original view that we are given. The way she truly is, is shown through her past. The first scene is a shot of a room full of old-fashioned furniture and an old fashioned layout. The camera is in a diagonal shot of the room showing two arm chairs with the crochet rugs draped over the back of them. Behind the far armchair in the background there is a large window with net curtains, this is the only source of light in the room at the beginning of the scene. On the right hand side there is a small fireplace, with ornaments on the mantelpiece. You can also see a small sideboard with objects placed on it and a fallen buffet on the floor, with a smashed photo by the side. There are also other objects in the surroundings. The
A Cream Cracker Under The Settee'
GCSE English Literature - 20th Century Drama Coursework The melancholy of life, death and old age, are one of the many issues dealt with, in Alan Bennett's heart-rending tale. It tells the story of an isolated, fragile, elderly woman, who feels ensnared in a modernised society in which she strives for her sovereignty and prominence. In a culture where the old are forgotten, neglected and depicted as useless. 'A Cream Cracker Under The Settee' seems to be the perfect title of the play as the double entendre epitomizes this remarkably. In addition, another reason for the dramatic piece being called 'A Cream Cracker Under The Settee'. Is because a cream cracker was indeed found under a settee in the play, this makes the title rather ironic. As the title in many ways also symbolises the character of Doris as she is depicted as a lost soul, abandoned, waiting to be found and cared for. Throughout 'Cream Cracker', the protagonist: Doris, speaks to an unseen audience, this could be seen to be another allegory used to signify the title of the play. As although the audience is unseen to Doris as 'the cream cracker under the settee' is unnoticed, this may be used to indicate that although the object is concealed, this does not make it any less important than the objects that are perceived. Doris as a tragic woman confides her anguish and despondency in the spectators, placing, yet
Studying Two Alan Bennett Monologues.
STUDYING TWO ALAN BENNETT MONOLOGUES Introduction A monologue is a play with a single performer. The word monologue is of Greek origin and comes from mono-logos. Mono means 'word of one person' and logos means 'voice' hence monologue, 'one voice'. Alan Bennett's work is impressive and his understanding of characterization is second to none. He has an ability to capture the life- styles and backgrounds of the characters he creates. The language of each character brings forward clichés that can be humorous although in my view this might not have been always intentional. In carrying out my research I found an article in The Times Newspaper where Alan Bennett recognized that although he calls this work a series of monologues they could be plays. In fact, two of his monologues have been lengthened to enable them to be performed in the theatre. The article also stated that they could, equally well, be called short stories, for although none has a conventional short story construction, each has a plot, of sorts. It is a measure of Bennett's skill with language, that all of the scripts establish detail, plot and development of character. A Lady of Letters Patricia Routledge was cast in the BBC production to play Irene Ruddock, a middle aged woman who writes letters. We soon discover that what she regards as her public responsibility has in the past turned into libel. As a
In A Lady of Letters how does Alan Bennett sustain the audiences interest in a play with only one character?
In 'A Lady of Letters' how does Alan Bennett sustain the audience's interest in a play with only one character? 'A Lady of Letters' is a dramatic monologue by Alan Bennett produced in 1988 and was a part of a series called 'Talking heads' which was written for the BBC. It is based on many different ordinary characters and their views on controversial subjects like racism, society and politics etcetera. The protagonist in 'A Lady of Letters' is Miss Irene Ruddock - a middle aged woman shown constantly to be annoyed about social changes around her. The changes include immigration, marriage, fashion and loss in the sense of community. Furthermore, the government was run by the Conservative party where Margret Thatcher was the first and to this day the only female Prime Minister. This boosted the equality between men and women. Women began to wear more provocative and 'manly' clothing -which caused disapproval from older generations. Due to the changes in media and society, Miss Ruddock has a tendency to write many letters of complaint, which is shown by her having already written a letter in the beginning of her monologue. The plot itself is set in the 1970s where many different factors change in society which somewhat upsets an 'old-fashioned' woman like Miss Ruddock. The title brings irony to the monologue as the word 'Lady' is associated with someone with a higher status
Explain how Alan Bennett conveys the changes that take place in Miss Ruddock, during the course of the monologue?
Explain how Alan Bennett conveys the changes that take place in Miss Ruddock, during the course of the Monologue? Lady of Letters presents an ordinary middle-aged woman in a furnished room with a bay window. As we know, a bay window is arched it allows you to look further out into the world, we as an audience get the impression that she's more of a observer rather than an participant. Miss Ruddock is a typical woman of her generation; she is a busybody with a compulsion to write letters about all that she finds objectionable, such as complaining about hearse drivers who smoke at a crematorium. We also get the sense that her childhood memories are based on traditional attitudes and values. We as an audience, sum up the impression that Miss Ruddock is aged between 40 and 60, who was unable to keep up with the dramatic change of world, in the course of her life. Her only real contact is through her bay window, where she looks out at people's lives, without actually interacting with them, we also learn that she has become an obsessive letter writer because she hasn't got a place in society. Miss Ruddock letters are a form of communication to her. Initially, Miss Ruddock creates the impression that she would like to be recognized as an upper class and sophisticated character. This is created, from the letter she wrote to the crematorium, complaining about the lack of service,
How does Alan Bennett mix comedy and tragedy? In two monologues look at structure, characterisation, language and dramatic devices.
How does Alan Bennett mix comedy and tragedy? In two monologues look at structure, characterisation, language and dramatic devices. Alan Bennett mixes comedy and tragedy in the two monologues 'A Chip in the Sugar' and 'Her Big Chance'. In 'A Chip in the Sugar' the characters tend to be afflicted by tragic circumstances, broken up by humorous anecdotes that engage the audience's interest and 'lighten up' the play. In 'Her Big Chance' there is a comical outer surface which, when considered, actually contains a very tragic undertone. This tragedy isn't openly stated. To see how Alan Bennett mixes comedy and tragedy, the use of the dramatic monologue, dramatic devices, setting, plot, characterisation and language must first be analysed. Before discussing further points, what a dramatic monologue is must first be discussed. Dramatic monologues are plays, which consist of one person speaking. The dramatic monologues are broken into sections, these transitions often adding to the tragedy, but not the comedy. In these monologues, certain points like Graham's mental illness, and Lesley's poor acting are gradually revealed; they are never openly stated, however obvious the may become. One example of this gradual revelation is when Graham invites Mr Turnbull's daughter in: 'I said, 'You'd better come in.' Go to black'. The pause ('Go to black.') is what implies that a conversation
Although A Cream Cracker Under the Settee is a dramatic monologue we are presented with a range of characters. Show how Bennett presents these characters and consider how realistic you find them.
Although A Cream Cracker Under the Settee is a dramatic monologue we are presented with a range of characters. Show how Bennett presents these characters and consider how realistic you find them. Just by reading the title of the play, 'A Cream Cracker Under the Settee' we can get a feel of what sort of mood the play will produce. A Cream Cracker is a very old and unoriginal biscuit, and is not as popular as it used to be. It is also quite a plain, boring type of biscuit; there is not much excitement in it. The location of the biscuit gives us even more insight into the monologue. The biscuit is pushed away, shoved beneath the settee. It is not even under a sofa, which would give a more comfortable sounding effect. The biscuit is forgotten about, neglected and nobody really cares about it. It is cast aside, and unappreciated. The effect of the title is even quite depressing to think about. Being a cream cracker under the settee is not a situation anybody would like to be in. When presented with the title, I had a suspicion that the biscuit didn't really have an important role in the play. That it was just minor part in the bigger picture. The other interpretation was that it was a simile, a way of describing Doris. When given the name, Doris, as the leading character at the beginning of the play, an image of the appearance, personality and particularly age is immediately
'Write a critical appreciation, in which you compare at least two of Alan Bennett's dramatic monologues 'Talking heads' from the perspective of a theatre goer/ television viewer'
20th century Drama Course-work 'Write a critical appreciation, in which you compare at least two of Alan Bennett's dramatic monologues 'Talking heads' from the perspective of a theatre goer/ television viewer' I had the opportunity to visit the Harrogate Theatre to watch three of Alan Bennett's dramatic monologues. These were, 'Cream Cracker Under the settee', 'Bed Among the Lentils' and 'Chip In the Sugar'. I thoroughly enjoyed the production and preferred the interpretation of the plays in comparison to the televised version. I found the televised version lacked emotional depth and resonance, whereas the theatre production successfully conveyed emotion whilst remaining static. The theatre production also introduced props which were convincingly used by the actors to make the performance more real and ring true. And as the characters spoke directly to the audience it made the entire experience all the more personal; it was as though the character was confiding in the audience. The dramatic Monologues from 'Talking Heads' were initially written as a television series and shown in 1988 by the BBC; they included the renowned actress Maggie Smith, Thora Hird and Julie Walters. 'Talking Heads' broke new dramatic ground as previous monologues tended to be musical and it has become a modern classic. Such was the success and popularity, the plays moved on to the BBC radio,
Modern Drama - Talking Heads
Modern Drama - Talking Heads, Alan Bennett Compare three characters from the dramas studied. What are the differences between how the character sees him/herself, how other characters in the drama see them and how we as an audience see them? Talking Heads is a series of monologues written by Alan Bennett about mainly ordinary people in society. Alan Bennett was born and raised in Yorkshire and therefore the majority of his monologues refer to people living in areas that he is familiar with. These are mentioned several times and Talking Heads with regular appearances of places such as Ripon and Harrogate. Monologues allow us to get a deep insight into just one person's ways of thinking about the topics that are being discussed. They are, of course, very biased opinions expressed in the monologues, as each character will have his/her own feelings about the various topics that are discussed. These very descriptive monologues give us detailed insights into the minds of each character and allow us to gather together an idea of there state of minds and attitudes towards the current states of their lives and society. In Talking Heads, there is great contrast in the ways in which the various characters think of each other, themselves and how we see them. In the majority of the monologues we often have a completely different opinion of the main character than what they think of
A cream cracker under the settee - Imagine you are directing the play for television. How would you do it and why?
A cream cracker under the settee Imagine you are directing the play for television. How would you do it and why? Doris is a 75-year-old widow, living alone in a semi-detached house. She was fitted with a pacemaker about three years ago because of the symptoms of angina. Her late husband's name is Wilfred who died an unexpected death a couple of years ago. A lady called 'Zulema' has been employed by the Social Services to clean Doris' house. Zulema had been visiting Doris for the past four months, every Wednesday of each week. Yet Doris despises her. This is generally due to the fact that Zulema doesn't clean or dust properly and still gets paid for her 'cleaning'. And the main reason for this hatred towards Zulema is because of her constant bickering of 'how Doris should be thinking about going to the Stafford house and also because of the threats that if Doris does do any work she'll be reported and sent to the Stafford house'. This whole play is based on Doris. It is mainly set in the living room and in the hallway of the semi-detached house. The play starts after Doris falls off the buffet, while she was trying to dust the top of the fire-place in the living room. The play begins as we see Doris sitting awkwardly, and rubbing her leg, next to the fire place. As the drama continues, Doris talks about her present life and recalls her past. Doris mentions her husband a