Talking Heads is a 1988 TV series of dramatic monologues written for BBC television by British playwright Alan Bennett. The first series was broadcast on BBC1 in 1988, and adapted for radio on BBC Radio 4 in 1991. A second series was broadcast on BBC Two in 1998. They have since been included on the A-level and GCSE English Literature syllabus. Some episodes aired on PBS in the United States as part of its Masterpiece Theatre programme. In 2020, the BBC remade 10 of the existing episodes, with two brand new stories.

Summary

There are two series of Talking Heads, six monologues in each, along with an earlier (1982) play, A Woman of No Importance, which, while not released alongside Talking Heads, generally fits into the canon. Although the plays deal with a variety of subjects, there are certain recurring themes, such as death, illness, guilt and isolation. All of the characters are childless with the notable exception of Muriel in "Soldiering On"; Violet in "Waiting for the Telegram" is told she has a son, but she does not remember him. Most of the plays give some hint as to where they are set, mostly in Leeds, although not (as Bennett stresses) the "real" Leeds, but rather one that exists in his head. For example, Matthias Robinson, in which Miss Fozzard works, closed in the 1970s.

Cast and crew

Each episode consists of an individual monologue and therefore in most episodes only one character appears. The only exception is when Steven Beard features as a policeman in "A Cream Cracker under the Settee". Julie Walters, Patricia Routledge and Thora Hird appear as different characters in both series. The show was produced by Innes Lloyd and Ralph Wilton (series 1) and Mark Shivas (series 2), while Alan Bennett, Stuart Burge, Giles Foster, Tristram Powell, Gavin Millar, Patrick Garland, Stuart Garland and Udayan Prasad directed individual episodes. The music was written by George Fenton.

Episodes

Actors are named for the earlier of the BBC television versions.

Stand-alone play

"" – (19 November 1982)

Series 1

Talking Heads 1 – (19 April to 24 May 1988)

Series 2

Talking Heads 2 – (6 October to 11 November 1998)

2020 Series

Talking Heads 3 – (23 June to 9 July 2020) Filmed during the lockdown for COVID-19, in 2020, the BBC released a new series of Talking Heads including remakes of 10 of the original monologues and two new episodes written by Bennett in 2019. Ten of the original monologues were performed with new actors. The two Thora Hird monologues ("A Cream Cracker under the Settee" and "Waiting for the Telegram") were not included, primarily due to the fact the directors were unable to use actors over the age of 70.

Nominations and awards

Series 1 (1988)

BAFTA TV Awards RTS Awards

Series 2 (1998)

BAFTA TV Awards Peabody Awards RTS Awards

Radio broadcasts

The nature of the monologues is that, despite being conceived for television, they can be broadcast unaltered in sound only. As such, they were re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between February and March 1991, the only difference being the inclusion of an introductory instalment with Bennett discussing their development. The second series did not appear on radio but received a CD release. "Bed Among the Lentils" was subsequently remade for BBC Radio 7 in 2008 with Anna Massey as Susan.

Releases

The radio shows were released as two CDs in 1999. In 2007, the monologues were published as a book titled Talking Heads. There have also been a number of DVD and video releases, the most recent in 2005 entitled The Complete Talking Heads. This release also features Bennett's autobiographical Telling Tales monologues from 2000.

Stage adaptations

A West End theatre production, also entitled Talking Heads, opened at the Comedy Theatre in January 1992 for a 10-week season, starring Patricia Routledge and Alan Bennett, who also directed, plus piano interludes by Jeremy Sams. In 2002, seven of the pieces were performed at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles for a highly praised engagement. In 2003, the Los Angeles production was staged Off-Broadway, at the Minetta Lane Theatre with a few changes in casting and creative personnel, and replacement of one of its seven monologues. This version was recognised with Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress (Lynn Redgrave), The Obie Award for Outstanding Performance, (Kathleen Chalfant, Daniel Davis, Christine Ebersole, Valerie Mahaffey, Redgrave, Brenda Wehle), and The Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play (Alan Bennett). London's Bridge Theatre staged eight monologues from the 2020 television series in the months following their broadcast. Actors Lucian Msamati, Imelda Staunton, Tamsin Greig, Maxine Peake, Rochenda Sandall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Monica Dolan and Lesley Manville reprised their roles in four double bills. Martin Freeman, Jodie Comer, Harriet Walter and Sarah Lancashire appeared in the TV series, but not in the stage productions.