In these plays there is only a single actor/actress in these cases “Leslie” and “Doris” with all the other characters seen through the eyes of the main character. This does not give us the chance to have our own opinions about the other characters but gives us the views and opinions of the main character. This is useful on both plays as although it tells us less about sub characters it tells us a lot more about “Leslie” and “Doris” and their feelings about the people around them. “I’ve a feeling Scott may be gay” Leslie suggests this as he is the only man, to date, involved in the film who has not attempted to take advantage of her naivety. This tells us of how she is naive and finds herself extremely attractive, as the first man who doesn’t make a sexual advance towards her is labeled gay. “Zulema doesn’t dust. She half-dusts.” From this we learn that Doris takes pride in her home and likes it spick and span, also that she thinks she is able to live alone and does not need home help. It also tells us a bit about Zulema, that she is not fully devoted to her work as the dusting is only half done.
Both actresses portray the characters very well and make them both unique and likable. Doris is likable due to her simple ness and we automatically feel sympathy for her as she lives alone and is unable to do many things herself, therefore Zulema is employed to do the housework but that still doesn’t get done to Doris’s standards. Alan Bennett has used pathos here to show us how hard it is for old people to manage everyday things while living on their own. Leslie is likeable as she is humorous without meaning to be, she also tends to make a fool of herself towards the viewers and her co-workers. “I’ not used to working like this” Leslie is comparing the provisions and the time she is left sitting around to a major film ‘Tess’, as far as we know this is the only major film she has worked on. She was an extra and named her single scene character with no lines, ‘Chloe’.
In these plays the actors are talking directly to the viewer but the viewer is not involved in the conversation instead is more like an eavesdropper on the actor who is talking to herself. This could be incorrect as there are several pauses in the story, which could be there for the audience to reply. This could be were the drama is involved, with the viewers ability to interact with the actor as such. The drama could also be with the single actor playing the parts of several characters as they recall what had happened and the conversations that they had involvement in. “ ‘you look an interesting person. I’m interested in interesting people. Hello.’ He said, ‘Hello.’ ” Leslie is talking us through the conversation she had with ‘Spud’, which shows that interaction can take place with only one person on screen.
These stories could have been performed in a more traditional manner using a full cast and having flashbacks acted out in order to give a more in depth view to what happened as opposed to the actor giving us their view. A problem with this is that almost every drama is performed like this and the idea of one character telling us about the events is original and gives us a different perspective to look at. These dramas could also be made for a next to nothing budget with one actor, simple backgrounds and no props to pay for.
With one actor on screen we are forced to pay attention to them, which helps us to pay more attention to the story that is being told, as sub characters are not constantly intruding upon the scene. We also get one persons view on the whole event, which makes it easier to understand, as there is no overlaps in personality. “She’s not half done this place, Zulema.” If Zulema were actually on stage she could argue her case and our concentration would no longer be on the story but we would be focused on the intrusive argument.
From just 30 minutes of viewing a single character we can learn a lot about them, more so than if other characters were involved. We know that Doris is extremely hygiene conscious through her experiences with Zulema, we know that her husband Wilfred is dead and she misses him a lot as she mentions him a lot through out the story. “Wilfred was always hankering after a dog.” Wilfred is brought into the story at every opportunity. We also know she is unable to completely look after herself and needs home help which she is not entirely happy about. We know that Leslie is in her early 30’s and lives on her own in a flat. We know she is a part time actress who would take almost any part that comes along. We know she is willing to learn various skills for particular parts and is extremely enthusiastic. “I’m very happy to learn both chess and water-skiing,” We also know she is extremely gullible and naïve “I am wedded to my small charges” Kenny ‘the animal holder’ makes Leslie believe he wouldn’t sleep with her in order to get her to his room, to see a cat, by saying this.
I thought the two dramas worked incredibly well and was surprised that I found them both enjoyable and interesting. It was a welcome change to see the dramas acted out this way as opposed to the conventional way of several actors playing out the occurrences. I found myself more emotionally involved as the emotions being acted out by the characters were clearer. As a compliment to Alan Bennett I would very much like to see the other two ‘Talking Heads’ plays.
