A cream cracker under the settee
Cream Cracker under the Settee by Alan Bennett How does Bennett use dramatic devices to bring the character of Doris alive?
Alan Bennett was born in Leeds on the 9th May 1934, and attended Leeds Modern School then gained a place at Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge. This clearly shows he was well educated. However, Alan Bennett attended Exeter College where he had gained a 1st class honours degree in History. Bennett later became an actor and a playwright; his career led him to narrating many books e.g. Madness of King George, and the Talking Heads Series, which was nominated for a BAFTA award in 1989. These series address issues of Death, illness and isolation; however, Bennett uses humour to keep the monologue light hearted and to create a less serious atmosphere.
The ‘Talking Heads’ Series is a dramatic monologue; the only reason it is so popular is because it is directed at families so they can relate to the show, it features aspects of life which the audience experience in their lifetime which is why it attracted so many viewers and had them hooked. Alan Bennett used the series to deal with issues seen in society such as Death, mourning, the elderly and isolation.
A monologue is a long, uninterrupted speech from actor to the audience. They can be limited as there is only one character so the writer needs to think about how the character will connect with the audience. There are long intense periods of just listening to a character ramble on thus the audience have to imagine other characters and relationships rather than see them. This can make it very difficult to bring the character to life because the monologue can become very draining, there are no other characters to act towards or talk to and there are not many stage directions to make the character lively which is why Bennett uses dramatic devices to bring the character of Doris to life.
Doris is a lonely elderly woman living on her own in her semidetached house, this suggests she could be from
Alan Bennett was born in Leeds on the 9th May 1934, and attended Leeds Modern School then gained a place at Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge. This clearly shows he was well educated. However, Alan Bennett attended Exeter College where he had gained a 1st class honours degree in History. Bennett later became an actor and a playwright; his career led him to narrating many books e.g. Madness of King George, and the Talking Heads Series, which was nominated for a BAFTA award in 1989. These series address issues of Death, illness and isolation; however, Bennett uses humour to keep the monologue light hearted and to create a less serious atmosphere.
The ‘Talking Heads’ Series is a dramatic monologue; the only reason it is so popular is because it is directed at families so they can relate to the show, it features aspects of life which the audience experience in their lifetime which is why it attracted so many viewers and had them hooked. Alan Bennett used the series to deal with issues seen in society such as Death, mourning, the elderly and isolation.
A monologue is a long, uninterrupted speech from actor to the audience. They can be limited as there is only one character so the writer needs to think about how the character will connect with the audience. There are long intense periods of just listening to a character ramble on thus the audience have to imagine other characters and relationships rather than see them. This can make it very difficult to bring the character to life because the monologue can become very draining, there are no other characters to act towards or talk to and there are not many stage directions to make the character lively which is why Bennett uses dramatic devices to bring the character of Doris to life.
Doris is a lonely elderly woman living on her own in her semidetached house, this suggests she could be from