22Apr 16

Talking Heads Press Release

Three monologues from Alan Bennett’s celebrated Talking Heads will be staged by Kingsley Players for four nights, Wednesday 18 – Saturday 21 May 2016.

Darkly comic, tragically poignant and wonderfully uplifting, the dramatic masterpieces were first staged on BBC TV in the 1980s when they were considered ground-breaking and helped to confirm Bennett’s reputation as one of Britain’s finest modern dramatists.

Kingsley Players director Chris Mapp has chosen three of his best known works for the group’s spring production – A Chip in the Sugar, originally performed by Alan Bennett himself, Her Big Chance, performed by Julie Walters, and A Cream Cracker Under the Settee, starring Thora Hird as Doris. Treading the boards for the Players’ 2016 version will be Matt Jones, Keri Spellman and Kath Kerry.

Chris Mapp said: “As a writer, director and actor, I have long been an admirer of Alan Bennett, so I am relishing the chance to direct these works with Kingsley Players.  The Talking Heads monologues can be described as romantic tragedies. Each of the characters is flawed and needing to overcome dramatic changes in their life.

“As each of the performers from Kingsley Players is discovering, none of the roles is simply about learning the lines.  It takes a lot of courage to be the only person on stage and tell a moving story.  What is wonderful about these characters is they are also tragically comical.

“We hope everyone who comes to see Talking Heads will not only be emotionally moved but moved to laugh out loud too.”

Tickets cost £7/£8. They may be booked in advance through the website www.kingsleyplayers.co.uk or by ringing the box office on 07925 516760.