Writer: Alan Bennett
Director: Emily Oulton
Alan Bennett’s series of monologue plays for the BBC, Talking Heads, became instant classics when first aired in 1988. They have since been rebroadcast on the radio and have occasionally made stage appearances, starting with a 1991 presentation of three of the original 12 plays, starring Bennett and Patricia Routledge. During lockdown in 2020, the BBC remounted 10 of the original monologues alongside two new plays by Bennett on the then-unused sets of EastEnders, some of which were also performed at the Bridge Theatre.
Such is the nature and brilliance of Bennett’s writing that their original television performances attracted huge names who created indelible connections to the work. It is almost impossible to listen to Her Big Chance without visualising Julie Walters as Lesley, a background actress with pretensions who is excited to get a big break in a big European movie, only to discover the “luxurious yacht” that is to be the set is, in fact, moored in Lee-on-Solent and she is actually the eye candy in a softcore pornographic film.
Of all the original monologues, this has perhaps aged the least well, due in part to references to the long-departed soap Crossroads. Georgie Rodgers as Lesley captures the amusing contradictions in a character who is rather more serious about her craft than her ability actually allows. Bennett’s waspishness is in full evidence (“My experience of tattoos is that they’re generally confined to the lower echelons… when I saw his vest it had electrician all over it”). There is a feeling throughout, though, that the Northern cadence of Bennett’s writing, which Walters has been so comfortable with in both his and Victoria Wood’s writing, fares less well in a Home Counties accent.
Still, the sense of exploitation in the film industry, and how Lesley’s own lack of guile allows her to convince herself she is a willing participant, remains as solid as ever. And that sense of a woman whose vulnerabilities are exploited is extended into the second of the night’s plays, Soldiering On. Muriel is recently widowed, and as well as facing life alone, is also struggling with caring for a daughter with mental health problems. Initially left comfortably off by her husband’s will, her son takes over her finances and promptly squanders them all. After her daughter moves from an expensive residential care home to one more suitable to Muriel’s budget, the care she receives unlocks long-buried trauma at her father’s hand.
Rowena Bentley, taking on the role originated by Stephanie Cole, gives us a quiet vision of a woman whose trusting naiveté has led her not to notice, maybe even to ignore, what had been happening. Even as her financial problems mount, she can only describe her embezzling son as “a bit of a scamp”. There is a perennial sense of optimism, even as Muriel is forced to sell her house and move to a small rented flat by the sea, which is captured well by Bentley’s thoughtful, occasionally winsome delivery.
Less effective is set and costume design, for which George P Martin’s over-reliance on chiffon suits Lesley’s self-belief of her own glamour far better than Muriel’s quiet suburban desolation.
Still, both dramas retain their full sense of potency. Performing monologues of such length is a feat for any actor (indeed, both Rodgers and Bentley need occasional prompts in places), but the result is rewarding: two examples of Alan Bennett at the top of his writing game, mixing comedy and pathos in ways that make it hard to draw a distinction between the two.
Runs until 11 April 2026
