Alex Jennings, locking his plummy accent in a drawer and adopting a broad Leeds twang in its place, mesmerised in the role of Alan Bennett; quite possibly the highlight of a long and impressive career. Everything from the mop of fringed fair hair and horn-rimmed glasses down to the thick pullover and sensible brown shoes, convinced the audience that they were privy to an intimate monologue from the great playwright himself. You almost had to pinch yourself. Untold Stories is the fourth Bennett play to have made it to the West End in four years. Transferring to the Duchess Theatre after a sell-out run at the National’s Lyttleton last year, this double bill of recollections is not solely aimed at Bennett devotees and those more familiar with Northern customs, it is a treat of unequaled pleasure for all who grew up wondering what to make of their own unique relationship with their parents.
Hymn, directed by Nadia Fall, is a gentle prelude examining Bennett’s early religiosity and largely inspired by Bennett’s friend, composer George Fenton, whose music it contains. There is a harmony to the piece that never tries to compete with the lengthier and more powerful Cocktail Sticks, directed by Nicholas Hytner. From The Lady in the Van to The History Boys, religion has always been an integral part of Bennett’s work; for the writer who “never found it easy to belong”, the Church offered an early sanctuary and sense of belonging.
The second act offers a tender insight into Bennett’s at times strained relationship with his parents; introducing us to ‘Dad’, played by the wonderful Jeff Rawle, a butcher who riles Bennett’s ‘Mam’ with his fondness for making beef dripping, the smell of which permeates to the upstairs living quarters and is the reason, so Mam declares, they never entertain folk. Bennett, on suggesting that childhood in the 1940s was also subject to rationing, “dull, without frills and done up like the groceries of the time in plain utility packets”, is reminded of having been taken to Morcombe on holiday.
A self-taught amateur violinist, his father’s intellectual limitations are mainly impeded by a fear of anything academic or high brow, yet despite this, he remains the figure to whom the young Bennett looks up to and seeks approval from. “Both my parents felt constrained, even imprisoned by their lack of education”, so his embarrassment at having to entertain his parents at Oxford as a student is understandable, yet no less touching.
Bennett’s mother, Lilian, in an outstanding portrayal by Gabrielle Lloyd, appears at first to spend most of her time fantasising about being a typical Woman & Home magazine reader – throwing cocktail parties and making chit chat with the bank manager. She is the character the audience are most enthralled by; a woman troubled with severe and debilitating depression – a subject Bennett unashamedly brings into the open by showing her gradually sinking further into her own little world whilst being cared for in a home in Weston-super-Mare. Written while he was undergoing cancer treatment, Untold Stories is an absolution of sorts, a making-sense-of-it-all and a poignant statement of reassurance that neither children nor parents are infallible.
Untold Stories at the Duchess Theatre until 15th June 2013. Performance time approximately 2 hours including one twenty minute interval. For more information and tickets, visit the website.
