An evening of Alan Bennett in Holt

Holt Dramatic Society will  present An Evening of Alan Bennett, ‘Say Something Happened’ and ‘A Lady of Letters,’ at the village hall on Thursday 13th – Saturday 15th July at 7.30pm.

Many of the plays Alan Bennett wrote during the 70s and 80s featured people who seem to be watching the world from the side lines, but somehow unable to participate in it.    

Mam and Dad, in Say Something Happened, “don’t mind a bit of isolation”.  They know they definitely don’t want “roping in for any get-togethers”.  They have each other to keep them warm at night, and they travel the world through their beloved daughter’s postcards.  They also have a secret that they don’t talk about.  June, a well-intentioned but inexperienced young social worker, encourages them to think about the problems they might face in the future, and to accept support from the council.  But when Mam impulsively seeks June’s help, June is nonplussed…

Irene is A Lady of Letters.  Since her mother died, she has watched the outside world through the newspapers and her window, and communicated with it through her (many) letters.  Irene is an energetic but profoundly lonely woman, and her letters are her only source of social interaction.  She wants to contribute to the world, and she sees things, things that she believes need to be put right.  But the letter writing becomes compulsive, and she goes too far…

These characters were originally portrayed in the 1980s.  Their stories, their private thoughts and worries, are still as fundamentally relevant to today’s society as they were when Bennett first wrote them.

These two plays will be performed together at Holt Village Hall on Thursday 13th – Saturday 15th July at 7.30pm. Tickets are now on sale at Holt Superstore, £9 (£7 concessions).