Born in Yorkshire in 1934, Alan Bennett. :: English Literature

Born in Yorkshire in 1934, Alan Bennett. Born in Yorkshire in 1934, Alan Bennett has been writing, performing and directing since his first theatrical encounters as a student at Oxford in the early 1960's. He first gained success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and later, in collaboration with Dudley Moore, Peter Cooke and Jonathan Miller, enjoyed considerable acclaim with the original Beyond the Fringe. (www.museum.tv. Accessed 26/01/03) Alan Bennett is the archetypal Northerner, his bespeckled, dour appearance make him an unlikely celebrity and he would not look out of place as a slightly muddled professor or, as Bennett himself observes, a vicar. He says on the subject of appearances 'people often end up doing what the mirror tells them they are suited for, while feeling themselves quite different inside. And in the process whole lives are thrown away' (Observer.co.uk. Accessed 21/01/03) Bennett writes about ordinary people, involved in mundane activities, but with his unique style he can liven up the dullest tale and add interest to life's lonely outcasts. Although the stories in Talking Heads are fiction, it is easy to see that some are influenced from events in Bennett's early life. His mother suffered from depression and he uses his experience of mental illness as a core for some of his characters. As he says, the people he writes about are 'part of a story to the meaning of which they are not entirely privy' (Observer.co.uk. Accessed 21/01/03) A reflection of Bennett's own sexuality can be seen in the character of Graham in A Chip in the Sugar, who is portrayed as an uncomfortable homosexual. Bennett described his sexuality during an interview in the New Yorker in 1993 thus 'I'd always been in love with guys but always unhappily' (Observer.co.uk. Accessed 21/01/03) Although not included in the collections of Talking Heads, the concept actually started with 'A Woman of No Importance', which was first televised in 1982. It began the trend that Bennett carried on in both Talking Heads 1 and 2. Both of these compilations contain works with similar themes running through them, loneliness, unhappiness, alienation from a changed society, and vague mental illness. The ironic wit Bennett uses to convey the almost tragic stories are central to how the characters accept the way their lives have turned out (www.museum.tv. Accessed 21/01/03) The theme of loneliness and alienation from a changed society runs like a thread through all six of the first Talking Heads stories. Each of the characters portray a struggle to 'fit in' with everyday life, some are alone and lonely, and some in a relationship of some kind, yet still lonely. The gentle humour used in each of the tales makes