Dame thora hird, 28 may 1911 15 march 2003 was an english actress and comedienne of stage and screen, presenter and writer. A cream cracker under the settee by alan bennett essay. Dame thora hird, dbe 28 may 1911 15 march 2003 was an english actress and comedienne of stage and screen, presenter and writer. Thora hird in a cream cracker under the settee, patricia routledge in miss fozzard finds her feet, eileen atkins in the hand of god, david haig in playing sandwiches, julie walters in the outside dog, penelope wilton in nights in the gardens of spain and thora. Cream cracker under the settee, bed among the lentils and chip in the sugar essay sample. After thora, theres another trailer for an ocean apart. You have fallen, it is not okay, there is nothing to eat. These monologues were among alan bennetts first to be produced and broadcast. It was written by alan bennett who wrote the play in 1940s, doris is the main character played by thora hird, who is an old lonely lady whos in her seventies and thinks of her present life and reminisces about her past.
Thora hird dbe, 91, 19112003 actress by george pollen. A threetime winner of the bafta tv award for best actress, she won for talking heads. Here read by bryan melton in the style of the author. But thora didnt get where she is today london television centre. A cream cracker under the settee the character doris is played by thora hird, and character policeman played by john bull, directed by matthew walters. Her disapproval of homehelper zulemas cleaning leads her to attempt to clean a picture of her and wilfred, her late husband. The play is part of the talking heads series of plays in the 1980s. Actress became a british institution the irish times. In one of alan bennetts six talking heads monologues, a cream cracker under the settee, she memorably portrayed a. Baftas destination for youngsters to come and discover the magical worlds of film, television and games. Enter challenges, watch videos, and take part in our annual vote to decide the best film, tv show and game of the year.
A cream cracker under the settee thora hird talking heads duration. While doing postgraduate research he began to perform in cabaret, appearing first on the stage with the oxford theatre group revue better late at edinburgh in 1959. Cream cracker under the settee, bed among the lentils and. That was a thora hirdab masterpiece quote it was indeed a great actress much missed kenny everett did a brilliant send up of her when she presented her sunday show praise be i cant post youtube links but put in kenny everett verity treacle and youll see what i mean. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The last of the sun 18 january 2004 a cream cracker under the settee 24 may 1988 waiting for the telegram 11 november 1998. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Originally written for thora hird as one of allan bennetts talking heads monologues. Of course, most of us would have given up if we were that frail, but she kept going. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Cream cracker is a dramatic monologue in which doris, a 75 year old lady of leisure, speaks throughout. Ive seen her in last of the summer wine, where she played a great part.
Was introduced to caryl via an omnibus programme on bbc and an extract from top girls. Doris, aged seventyfive, is a tidy woman and when she suffers a fall after trying to clear up after her considerably less thorough home help, zulema, it becomes apparent that her. Recorded in 2002, thora hirds last ever performance, in a part written especially for her, is moving and memorable. Hird, who won a bafta in 1989 for performing alan bennett s solo piece a cream cracker under the settee in the original talking heads series on the bbc, was proud of being a morecambe lass. Thora hird won a bafta in 1988 for her performance as doris in a cream cracker under the sofa and won three more awards for performances in alan bennett monologues, two baftas and one emmy. Thora hird is a dbe, an obe and a dlitt, and i point out to her that there are more letters after her name than there are in it. A cream cracker under the settee, alan bennett essay.
Patricia routledge stars in a lady of letters, maggie smith in bed among the lentils, stephanie cole in soldiering on, julie walters in her big chance, thora hird in a cream cracker under the settee, patricia routledge in miss fozzard finds her. How does alan bennett create sympathy for doris in a cream cracker under the settee. How does alan bennett create sympathy for doris in a cream. In a cream cracker under the settee, doris has taken a fall at home, and until someone comes to rescue her shes left immobile and in reflective mood. A chip in the sugar a lady of letters bed among the lentils soldering on her big chance a cream cracker under the settee miss fozzard finds her feet the hand of god playing sandwiches the outside dog nights in the garden of spain waiting for the telegram. Alan bennetts talking heads film 88 tape 507 vhistory. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Synopsis talking heads is a complete collection of bennetts twelve masterful monologues, performed by the author and some of britains leading actors. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Doris is played by dame thora hird who has just recently passed away. Morecambe campaign seeks to honour dame thora hird with.
Hird could perform comedy and tragedy with equal strength. The complete talking heads audiobook by alan bennett. A cream cracker under the settee is played out as a monologue by doris thora hird, a seventyfiveyearold woman who is a widow, following her slip off a pouffe pronounced buffet in the play. Originally broadcasted on the bbc, thora hird was the first actress to take on the role of doris and was awarded a bafta for best actress. The following year thora was given another chance to prove herself as a talented straight actress when she starred in a cream cracker under the settee, one of. A cream cracker under the settee is a monologue piece written by alan bennett in 1988.
A cream cracker under the settee is a humorous play in the form of monologue. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a british institution. In these compelling pieces, bennett displays the wry observation, knowing irony and tender understatement that have ensured his rightful place at the forefront of contemporary writing. If you continue browsing, well assume that you are happy to receive all our cookies.
I thoroughly enjoyed the production and preferred the interpretation of the plays in. A cream cracker under the settee 75 yearold widow doris, obsessive about tidiness and maintaining her independence, has a fall that decides her future. The complete audio collection of alan bennetts celebrated monologues, published together for the first time and performed by some of britains best actors. A campaign has been launched to erect a statue of dame thora hird in her home town of morecambe. In these compelling pieces, bennett displays the wry observation, knowing irony and tender misunderstement that have ensured his rightful place at the foref. Then, thora hird appears in a cream cracker under the settee. The two monologues have been described as being modern day tragedies meaning that there is nothing that goes right in the characters lives and usually ends with a sad ending.
The bafta winner, best known for playing edie pegden in. In these compelling pieces, bennett displays the wry observation, knowing irony and tender misunderstement that have ensured his rightful place at the forefront of contemporary writing. Then we have an episode of film 88, from the cannes film festival. Thora hird as doris thora hird as doris episode cream cracker under the settee, a patricia routledge as. The talking heads monologues are widely regarded as one of alan bennetts finest dramatic achie. It leads with paul schraders film patty hearst, and a press conference where the real hearst talks about watching a film about her. An interviewer from the guardian once spent four hours recording dame thora hird, who has died aged 91, stopping only because he ran out of tapes. Made famous by thora hird in the original tv series. From julie walters portrayal of an actress seeking fame, to anna masseys alcoholic vicars wife, the characters in talking heads 1, are. A cream cracker under the settee is about a character called doris. She was made a dame in 1993 and continued to work right up. Talking heads is a complete collection of bennetts six masterful monologues, performed by the authour and five of britains leading actresses.