Alan Bennett's Talking Heads

Not having seen the original Talking Heads that debuted over 30 years ago, I was keen to watch this special pandemic rendition of Talking Heads which revived 10 of the episodes from series 1 and 2. Alan Bennett wrote 2 new ones pre-pandemic. The tone is subtle yet searing at times. Some episodes work better than others, but still worth watching.

Hopefully it won't take another pandemic for Alan to bring back Talking Heads for another series. I'd like to see Danny Dyer, any of the Harry Potter stars, any of the Spice Girls, Ant or Dec make an appearance in a new series.

These all are basically a master class in acting. All done with such an intimate and revealing insight. The sense you get while watching is that although the circumstances of our lives may differ the emotional crises we go through are universal. We can all experience moments of true happiness but suffer all the same. Of course some stories grip you more than others but for the most part there's always a sense of sympathy or relatability brought on by these performances.

Only seen the 1st three but so happy to see real actors and wonderful writing, I'm so sick of all the reality shows and repeat of films on all the channels it was enlightening to see such talent. I look forward to seeing the rest of the series and will add to this review at the end of the series.

Haven't watched them all yet, but happy to recommend already. Just watched Harriet Walter and cannot fault a moment of her performance. How refreshing to watch something that relies on words and performance.

Stunning!

Martin Freeman is awesome in "A chip in the sugar" but Imelda Staunton is sublime in "A lady of letters". Every aspiring actor hoping to win an audition should study this episode as a guide to what acting is.

Alan Bennett is a national treasure. His writing is prosaic but at the same time stunningly beautiful.

I did feel a little uncomfortable with some of the subject matter but Bennett takes no prisoners... life is what life is.