5 STARS, July 6. Go to the beautiful Clandon Wood Natural Burial Reserve to see a wonderfully innovative performance of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads in a unique setting, says Andrew Morris
Take the genius of Alan Bennett’s writing. Stir in some inspiring acting. Mix together in a unique setting. Let all the ingredients marinate and unleash the finished recipe on lucky theatrical diners.
In another triumph for the Guildford Fringe Festival, Creaction Theatre’s production of Talking Heads is funny, poignant and thought-provoking.
Alan Bennett wrote his garlanded Talking Heads series of monologues in the 1980s. Two of the six episodes are brought to life here – Her Big Chance and A Lady of Letters. Both have very different stories and characters, but both are observed with Bennett’s sublimely sly combination of mundane daily details and a deeper sadness.
In A Lady of Letters, Jules Hall plays Miss Ruddock (‘nobody calls me Irene’), a working class spinster with a propensity to write letters about her many perceived grievances. Gradually, we come to understand that Irene’s addiction is borne out of loneliness, especially since Mother died.
Jackie Morris is wannabe actress Lesley in Her Big Chance. Lesley has had minor roles in Crossroads and a Roman Polanski film, but she is excited when the opportunity to audition for a part as adventurous Travis in a film for the German market comes her way. Being asked to go topless is just part of her character, and she is a ‘good-time girl’, after all.
This production from Creaction Theatre cleverly intermingles the two monologues, separated by music of the era from Richard King’s keyboard. As Miss Ruddock’s letters evolve from minor nuisance towards neighbourly harassment, voluptuous Lesley stands to one side in her own blousy costume and with thoughts of stardom. And when Lesley gets the part, stripping off and killing her sleazy Italian boyfriend with a harpoon gun, prim Irene pouts a few yards away, in woolly tights and a warm coat.
Both actresses inhabit their roles with a perfect mix of humour, bathos and pathos, emulating acting luminaries Patricia Routledge and Julie Walters from the original series.
The final star of this innovative Guildford Fringe Festival event is the inspired setting of the new glass pavilion at Clandon Wood Natural Burial Reserve. With doors flung open on a warm summer evening, kestrels nesting on the roof, butterflies darting in the orange glow of the setting sun, the venue is almost itself another talking head.
Miss Ruddock finally finds a sad, ironic happiness in prison, Lesley is manipulated by the Director of her soft-porn movie, and the audience wanders off into the Clandon dusk, energised by the power of Bennett’s writing, the acting and the location.
Tickets: guildfordfringefestival.com
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