Talking Heads | |
---|---|
Also known as | Alan Bennett's Talking Heads |
Created by | Alan Bennett |
Starring | Alan Bennett Maggie Smith Julie Walters Patricia Routledge Thora Hird David Haig Eileen Atkins Penelope Wilton Stephanie Cole |
Music by | George Fenton |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 15 (including stand-alone play) |
Production | |
Producer | Innes Lloyd |
Running time | 30–40 mins |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One (1988, 2020) BBC Two (1998) |
Release | 19 April – 24 May 1988 |
Release | 6 October – 11 November 1998 |
Release | 23 June – 9 July 2020 |
Talking Heads is a 1988 TV series of dramatic monologues written for BBC television by British playwright Alan Bennett. The first series was broadcast on BBC1 in 1988, and adapted for radio on BBC Radio 4 in 1991. A second series was broadcast on BBC Two in 1998. They have since been included on the A-level and GCSE English Literature syllabus. Some episodes aired on PBS in the United States as part of its Masterpiece Theatre programme.
In 2020, the BBC remade 10 of the existing episodes, with two brand new stories. [1] [2]
There are two series of Talking Heads, six monologues in each, along with an earlier (1982) play, A Woman of No Importance, which, while not released alongside Talking Heads, generally fits into the canon. Although the plays deal with a variety of subjects, there are certain recurring themes, such as death, illness, guilt and isolation. All of the characters are childless with the notable exception of Muriel in "Soldiering On"; Violet in "Waiting for the Telegram" is told she has a son, but she does not remember him.
Most of the plays give some hint as to where they are set, mostly in Leeds, although not (as Bennett stresses) the "real" Leeds, but rather one that exists in his head. [3] For example, Matthias Robinson, in which Miss Fozzard works, closed in the 1970s.
Each episode consists of an individual monologue and therefore in most episodes only one character appears. The only exception is when Steven Beard features as a policeman in "A Cream Cracker under the Settee". Julie Walters, Patricia Routledge and Thora Hird appear as different characters in both series.
The show was produced by Innes Lloyd and Ralph Wilton (series 1) and Mark Shivas (series 2), while Alan Bennett, Stuart Burge, Giles Foster, Tristram Powell, Gavin Millar, Patrick Garland, Stuart Garland and Udayan Prasad directed individual episodes. The music was written by George Fenton.
Actors are named for the earlier of the BBC television versions.
"A Woman of No Importance" – (19 November 1982)
Talking Heads 1 – (19 April to 24 May 1988)
Talking Heads 2 – (6 October to 11 November 1998)
Talking Heads 3 – (23 June to 9 July 2020)
Filmed during the lockdown for COVID-19, in 2020, the BBC released a new series of Talking Heads including remakes of 10 of the original monologues and two new episodes written by Bennett in 2019. [2]
Ten of the original monologues were performed with new actors.
The two Thora Hird monologues ("A Cream Cracker under the Settee" and "Waiting for the Telegram") were not included, primarily due to the fact the directors were unable to use actors over the age of 70.
BAFTA TV Awards
Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Episode | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Best Actress | Thora Hird | "A Cream Cracker under the Settee" | Won |
Patricia Routledge | "A Lady of Letters" | Nominated | ||
Maggie Smith | "Bed Among the Lentils" | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Alan Bennett | "A Chip in the Sugar" | Nominated | |
Best Drama Series | Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd | "A Cream Cracker under the Settee" | Nominated | |
Best Single Drama | Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd | "Bed Among the Lentils" | Nominated | |
Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd, Giles Foster | "A Lady of Letters" | Nominated | ||
Best Video Lighting | Clive Thomas | "A Cream Cracker under the Settee" | Nominated | |
Best Lighting | Tony Burrough | N/A | Nominated | |
Best Graphics | Mina Martinez | N/A | Nominated | |
Best Original Television Music | George Fenton | N/A | Nominated |
Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Episode | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Actor: Female | Maggie Smith | "Bed Among the Lentils" | Won |
BAFTA TV Awards
Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Episode | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Best Actress | Thora Hird | "Waiting for the Telegram" | Won |
Best Single Drama | Alan Bennett, Mark Shivas, Stuart Burge | "Waiting for the Telegram" | Nominated | |
Alan Bennett, Mark Shivas, Udayan Prasad | "Playing Sandwiches" | Nominated | ||
Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Episode | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Best Single Drama | Alan Bennett, Mark Shivas, Udayan Prasad | "Playing Sandwiches" | Nominated |
Actor: Female | Thora Hird | "Waiting for the Telegram" | Won |
The nature of the monologues is that, despite being conceived for television, they can be broadcast unaltered in sound only. As such, they were re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between February and March 1991, the only difference being the inclusion of an introductory instalment with Bennett discussing their development. [4] The second series did not appear on radio but received a CD release. "Bed Among the Lentils" was subsequently remade for BBC Radio 7 in 2008 with Anna Massey as Susan. [5]
The radio shows were released as two CDs in 1999. [6] [7] In 2007, the monologues were published as a book titled Talking Heads. [8] There have also been a number of DVD and video releases, the most recent in 2005 entitled The Complete Talking Heads. [9] This release also features Bennett's autobiographical Telling Tales monologues from 2000. [10]
A West End theatre production, also entitled Talking Heads , opened at the Comedy Theatre in January 1992 for a 10-week season, starring Patricia Routledge and Alan Bennett, who also directed, plus piano interludes by Jeremy Sams. [11]
In 2002, seven of the pieces were performed at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles for a highly praised engagement. In 2003, the Los Angeles production was staged Off-Broadway, at the Minetta Lane Theatre with a few changes in casting and creative personnel, and replacement of one of its seven monologues. This version was recognised with Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress (Lynn Redgrave), The Obie Award for Outstanding Performance, (Kathleen Chalfant, Daniel Davis, Christine Ebersole, Valerie Mahaffey, Redgrave, Brenda Wehle), and The Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play (Alan Bennett). [12]
London's Bridge Theatre staged eight monologues from the 2020 television series in the months following their broadcast. Actors Lucian Msamati, Imelda Staunton, Tamsin Greig, Maxine Peake, Rochenda Sandall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Monica Dolan and Lesley Manville reprised their roles in four double bills. [13] Martin Freeman, Jodie Comer, Harriet Walter and Sarah Lancashire appeared in the TV series, but not in the stage productions. [14]
Alan Bennett is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. He also earned an Academy Award nomination for his film The Madness of King George (1994). In 2005 he received the Society of London Theatre Special Award.
Dame Thora Hird was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution.
Meet the Wife is a 1960s BBC sitcom written by Chesney and Wolfe, which featured Freddie Frinton as Freddie Blacklock with Thora Hird as his tyrannical wife, Thora. It ran for five series.
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge is an English actress and singer, best known for her comedy role as Hyacinth Bucket in the popular BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in 1992 and 1993.
Patricia Phoenix was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role as Elsie Tanner, an original cast member of Coronation Street, a role which she portrayed from its first episode in 1960 until she quit the role in 1984. In Elsie Tanner, she is credited with creating one of the most famous characters in British soap history.
Samantha Jane Bond is an English actress. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. On television, she played "Auntie Angela" in the sitcom Outnumbered and the villain Mrs Wormwood in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also originated the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. She is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Patricia Stephanie Cole is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as Tenko (1981–1985), Open All Hours (1982–1985), A Bit of a Do (1989), Waiting for God (1990–1994), Keeping Mum (1997–1998), Doc Martin (2004–2009), Cabin Pressure (2008–2014), Still Open All Hours (2013–2019), Man Down (2014–2017) and as Sylvia Goodwin in ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2011–2013).
A Question of Attribution is a 1988 one-act stage play, written by Alan Bennett. It focuses on the British art expert and former Soviet agent, Sir Anthony Blunt. It was premiered at the National Theatre, London, on 1 December 1988, directed by Simon Callow. The stage version of An Englishman Abroad, about Blunt's fellow agent Guy Burgess, was also performed on the same bill. The two plays are collectively called Single Spies.
Pat and Margaret is a British television film written by comedian Victoria Wood. The story follows sisters Margaret, a cook, and Pat, a successful actress in the United States, after they are reunited on a television programme after spending 27 years apart. It stars Wood and her frequent comedy partner Julie Walters in the title roles, and features other past collaborators of Wood, including Thora Hird, Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston. First aired in 1994 on BBC One, the film was directed by Gavin Millar and produced by Ruth Caleb.
Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV is a British comedy sketch series written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, with appearances from Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge. The show was televised on BBC2 between 1985 and 1987 and included sketches that became famous in the United Kingdom.
"A Cream Cracker Under The Settee" is a dramatic monologue written by Alan Bennett in 1987 for television, as part of his Talking Heads series for the BBC. The series became very popular, moving onto BBC Radio, international theatre, becoming one of the best-selling audio book releases of all time and included as part of both the A-level and GCSE English syllabus. It was the sixth and final episode of the first series of Talking Heads.
Afternoon Off is a 1979 television play by Alan Bennett. Broadcast under the umbrella title Six Plays by Alan Bennett, it was produced for London Weekend Television and directed by Stephen Frears. The screenplay was published by Faber and Faber in 1984.
When We Are Married is a three-act play by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley, described as "A Yorkshire Farcical Comedy". Written in 1934, it is set about thirty years earlier, and depicts the consequences when three middle-aged couples jointly celebrating their silver weddings are informed that they were not legally married.
"Her Big Chance" is a dramatic monologue written by Alan Bennett as part of his Talking Heads series for the BBC. The series became very popular, moving onto BBC Radio and international theatre, as well as becoming one of the best-selling audio book releases of all time and being included as part of both the A-level and GCSE English syllabus. It was the fifth episode of the first series of Talking Heads, and originally aired on 17 May 1988.
"Soldiering On" is a dramatic monologue written by Alan Bennett in 1987 for television, as part of his Talking Heads series for the BBC. The series became very popular, moving onto BBC Radio, international theatre, becoming one of the best-selling audio book releases of all time and included as part of both the A-level and GCSE English syllabus. It was the fourth episode of the first series of Talking Heads, starring Stephanie Cole. "Soldiering On" was remade in 2020 starring Harriet Walter.
"A Lady of Letters" is a dramatic monologue written by Alan Bennett in 1987 for television, as part of his Talking Heads series for the BBC. The series became very popular, moving onto BBC Radio, international theatre, becoming one of the best-selling audio book releases of all time and included as part of both the A-level and GCSE English syllabus. It was the second episode of the first series of Talking Heads.
Two Thousand Women is a 1944 British comedy-drama war film about a German internment camp in Occupied France which holds British women who have been resident in the country. Three RAF aircrewmen, whose bomber has been shot down, enter the camp and are hidden by the women from the Germans.
Talking Heads is a stage adaptation of the BBC series of the same title created by Alan Bennett. It consists of six monologues presented in alternating programmes of three each.
Monica Margaret Dolan is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in Appropriate Adult (2011).
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