Talking Heads

Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads' is a particular favourite with audiences, the series of monologues having proven to be instantly popular and have stood the test of time with their poignant humour and skilful exploration of a wide range of different issues. As its initial airing on TV in 1988 is still very much - and quite rightly - considered the 'definitive version' (the ghosts of Patricia Routledge, Thora Hird, Julie Walters and even Alan Bennett himself cast a long shadow) any amateur production has a very tough act to follow: it's also a particularly tricky piece for a first time director to tackle as there are no stage directions or even hints on performance to follow in the text, simply a well written monologue set out on the page. I think it's worth setting down right away however that as far as I'm concerned, this was one of the most satisfying, enjoyable, amusing and thoughtful evenings I have had the privilege to spend at the theatre and was certainly the most confident and polished debut production from a director I have ever seen. The level of skill and the amount of intelligent thought which had gone into this production was incredible and everyone concerned cannot be applauded too loudly or for long enough.

The three separate monologues (Lady of Letters, A Bed Among the Lentils and Her Big Chance) gave our three performers a chance to shine - and shine they did. Alan Bennett's dramatic affinity with the female voice, his magisterial way with words and his peerless ability to combine humour with pathos shone through in these performances: not only that, all three performers illuminated monologues I thought I knew well, shining a new light onto aspects of their characters, bringing them to life in a new way. The masterstroke of the evening was the decision to have all three of the Heads Talking simultaneously - or rather, have them running concurrently - rather than concentrating on each character at a time and hearing one monologue in its entirety before moving on to another. Introducing us to each of the characters at once and then weaving between their stories was a stroke of genius; giving a structure to the evening, keeping up the audience's interest, adding variety and helping the audience to spot any thematic links common to the various stories.

Jean Leigh gave us a super Miss Ruddock in 'Lady of Letters', the misguided letter writing addict who writes (at least) one letter too many, leading to her eventually finding an unlikely salvation in a rather unexpected way; Alison Bell excelled as Susan, the bibulous vicar's wife whose tragi-comic adventures take her on a journey of personal discovery; Sarah Nolan gave a faultless performance as Lesley, the budding actress who never quite gets the big break she thinks she deserves, despite  her seeming determination to embrace the 'casting couch' with open arms (or, more accurately,  other parts of her anatomy!) The skill of all three performers was a privilege to behold - the effortless way in which the 'technical bits' of performing (learning the lines, navigating the set, the vocal inflection, the body language, dealing with props etc) came naturally really brought the characters to life in a way which made you forget the famous performances from television. All three performers breathed new life into their characters, excelling in making their characters emerge fully formed from the page, making them their own and helping to highlight aspects of the piece which I hadn't previously noticed, making me think in a slightly different way about characters I thought I knew well and developed themes which I hadn't given a great deal of consideration to hitherto.

The staging was thoughtful and the sets well constructed and naturalistic, grounding both the characters and their stories in the real world; costumes were excellent and added to the characterisations; lighting and sound was sympathetic and added much to the feel of the evening. It is impossible to single out any one of the three performers (or their performances) as being in any way superior to another as all three actors gave peerless renditions of their monologues, extracting the maximum amount of both humour and pathos from their individual tales, bringing each character to life with a professional sheen. By weaving each narrative alongside the others, we could appreciate both the range and variety of the different characters (Miss Ruddock's painful loneliness and her way of coping with life; Susan's resort to sex and the bottle to cope with life's disappointments; Lesley's impossible hopes and her misguided refusal to see them as such) at the same time as picking up on the thematic links that bind them together.

Lisa-marie Hunt's direction was both inspired and faultless and for a directorial debut, actually quite astounding. The decision to dip into each monologue throughout the evening (as opposed to seeing each one in its entirety before moving on to another) was a stroke of genius and her obvious inspiration (and hard work - she was also set designer and on duty with sound and lights on the night!) infused the cast with a determination to shine. I cannot praise the whole company too highly for what was a magnificent, thought-provoking, intelligent production.

For me, one of the great things about live theatre is its ability to both stimulate and inform at the same time as it entertains with an immediacy which cannot be surpassed, and here was a perfect blend of humour, pathos and an interesting and intelligent exploration of the human condition, all wrapped up in an evening's entertainment. That myself and my companions for the evening discussed the production long into the night after the curtain fell is a testament to the success of everyone involved at the Arts Club. So many things to mention, to discuss, to praise and to offer up to discussion that I was tempted to use this show report as an excuse to write a dissertation, using this production as a starting point to discuss the many and varied points of interest which came up in our post-show chatting: you'll be pleased to know I managed to curb that urge however! Suffice to say, this was a superb achievement and certainly the finest production I have seen this year. My thanks go to everyone at the Arts Club and I await the next production with keen anticipation.

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