Blake Morrison
Below is a link to an article by Blake Morrison. You will note that Bennett returns to a number of themes. The Talking Heads series offers plentiful evidence that Bennett is very much concerned with the humanity of disappointing people. His writing offers the spectator layer upon layer. On the surface we experience characters as being approachable and easy to connect with. There is a cost to this and we find that in the case of Wilfred in Playing Sandwiches that we have empathised with a paedophile.
Despite its reputation for lovable Englishness, his work is hard to pin down. Favourite themes recur - espionage, teaching, friendship, history, sexuality, liberalism, disappointment - but the characters range from the famous (Kafka, Guy Burgess, King George III) to the lonely and overlooked.
Blake Morrisson in the Guardian
Monday, 31 January 2011
Structure & Performance
Playing Sandwiches & the Architecture of The Opening
The opening section (p160 of the Picador US edition) lays out the base line information that the audience needs to be able to follow the drama. In addition we are introduced to 2 of the themes that will develop through the monologue. These are the the "untouchable " nature of Wilfred's character and his disgust at the sexual behaviour of the human race. Note that Bennett never instructs his viewer but provides clues so that the audience can reveal the "truth" of the character to themselves.
In the link below Lucy AnnWhite writes that :
"Most of Bennett's characters do not 'see' themselves at all, and he cleverly lets the character reveal this bit by bit as the monologue progresses".
Lucyann writes
Performance & text
We can see this in David Haig's portrayal of Wilfred. In this he projects an amused individual unaware of his own pariah status
View the link below and play it a few times. Note how the information comes in little nibbles and how Haig plays the morally dubious in an upbeat manner
David Haig
The opening section (p160 of the Picador US edition) lays out the base line information that the audience needs to be able to follow the drama. In addition we are introduced to 2 of the themes that will develop through the monologue. These are the the "untouchable " nature of Wilfred's character and his disgust at the sexual behaviour of the human race. Note that Bennett never instructs his viewer but provides clues so that the audience can reveal the "truth" of the character to themselves.
In the link below Lucy AnnWhite writes that :
"Most of Bennett's characters do not 'see' themselves at all, and he cleverly lets the character reveal this bit by bit as the monologue progresses".
Lucyann writes
Performance & text
We can see this in David Haig's portrayal of Wilfred. In this he projects an amused individual unaware of his own pariah status
View the link below and play it a few times. Note how the information comes in little nibbles and how Haig plays the morally dubious in an upbeat manner
David Haig
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