Spotlight: Talking Heads (2004)

An Evening of Alan Bennett — and a Regional Award for Excellence

In September 2004, the Torrington Players took on one of the most demanding challenges in British theatre: an evening of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads. Four monologues. Four actresses. No scenery to hide behind, no ensemble to lean on — just a performer, an audience, and the words.

Performed on a single night at the Plough Arts Centre in Torrington, the evening brought together four of Bennett's most celebrated pieces: Her Big Chance, Bed Among the Lentils, A Lady of Letters, and A Cream Cracker Under the Settee. Each one a self-contained portrait of an ordinary life — comic on the surface, quietly devastating underneath.

The NODA adjudicator for the South-West Region, Diane Gilchrist, was unequivocal in her praise. Her review, published in the NODA South-West Magazine in Spring 2005, opened with a line that said everything:

"The abundance of talent within the Players never fails to amaze me."

— Diane Gilchrist, NODA South-West Magazine, Spring 2005

Elizabeth Harris opened proceedings as Lesley in Her Big Chance — an aspiring actress whose obliviousness to her own exploitation is both funny and deeply sad. The reviewer noted that despite the story feeling slightly drawn out, Harris never wavered in holding the audience's attention, even managing to do her ironing whilst delivering the monologue.

Jane Edwards as Susan, a vicar's wife, in Bed Among the Lentils provided what the reviewer described as the most laughs of the evening — while also delivering its most powerful moral. As Gilchrist put it: "comedy and tragedy are never far apart. How many of us are living lives which to the outside world would appear near perfect, but in reality are absolute hell?"

Elizabeth Ford's A Lady of Letters — the story of a nosy neighbour whose compulsive letter-writing eventually lands her in prison — was described as extremely well performed. And Cathy Childs closed the evening as Doris in A Cream Cracker Under the Settee, an elderly woman alone on the floor of her home, reflecting on a life slipping away. The reviewer was struck by her timing and presence:

"Her timing was impeccable as she reminisced about the past and worried for the future. Her fears about being put into care came over loud and clear."

— Diane Gilchrist, NODA South-West Magazine, Spring 2005

The evening concluded with a verdict that matched the Players' own sense of what they had achieved: "A very enjoyable evening and all four players are to be congratulated."

NODA agreed. The Torrington Players were awarded the Regional Award for Excellence for 2005 in recognition of that night's performance — one of the proudest moments in the company's history, and proof that this small community theatre company from North Devon was capable of work that stood comparison with any amateur company in the region.