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, performingand direct since his first theatrical encounters as a student atOxford in the early 1960s.He first gained success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and later, incollaboration 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, dourappearance make him an unlikely celebrity and he would not look out ofplace as a slightly muddled professor or, as Bennett himself observes,a vicar. He says on the subject of appearances people often check updoing what the mirror tells them they atomic number 18 suited for, while feelingthemselves quite different inside. And in the process whole lives arethrown away (Observer.co.uk. Accessed 21/01/03)Bennett writes well-nigh ordinary people, involved in mundane activities,but with his unique sty le he can liven up the dullest tale and addinterest to lifes nonsocial outcasts.Although the stories in Talking Heads are fiction, it is easy to seethat some are influenced from events in Bennetts early life. Hismother suffered from depression and he uses his experience of mental malady as a core for some of his characters. As he says, the peoplehe writes about are part of a story to the meaning of which they arenot entirely privy (Observer.co.uk. Accessed 21/01/03)A reflection of Bennetts own sexuality can be seen in the characterof Graham in A Chip in the Sugar, who is portrayed as an uncomfortablehomosexual. Bennett described his sexuality during an interview in theNew Yorker in 1993 thus Id unceasingly been in love with guys but alwaysunhappily (Observer.co.uk. Accessed 21/01/03)Although not included in the collections of Talking Heads, the conceptactually started with A Woman of No Importance, which was firsttelevised in 1982. It began the trend that Bennett carried on in tw ainTalking Heads 1 and 2. Both of these compilations contain works withsimilar themes running through them, loneliness, unhappiness,alienation from a changed society, and vague mental illness. Theironic wit Bennett uses to go the almost tragic stories arecentral to how the characters accept the way their lives have turnedout (www.museum.tv. Accessed 21/01/03)The theme of loneliness and alienation from a changed society runslike a thread through all six of the first Talking Heads stories. Eachof 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