People

Synopsis

Francis de la Tour and Linda Bassett star in People, a new play by Alan Bennett.

Directed by the National Theatre's artistic director Nicholas Hytner, it centres on the treasures and revelations brought forth by an attic sale.

Showing until 2 April at the National Theatre's Lyttleton, it is recommended to book your tickets quickly.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 7 November 2012

In a run-down 15th century country house in South Yorkshire sits Frances de la Tour as moth-eaten, fur-coated, gum-booted Dorothy Stacpoole, glorious relic and a former society model, and her even shabbier “companion,” Iris. A naked man suddenly rushes in from a film set. The curtain falls. Sounds of sex elsewhere.

Alan Bennett’s first scene is a parody of Beckett’s shortest drama, Breath, where a human exhalation seeps through a pile of rubbish. But it also encapsulates the play, where the inhabitants of a grand house have to decide how to keep it going. We can’t all have Downton Abbey on tap, like the aristocratic incumbents of Highclere Castle.

At least the film crew making the porn flick get the radiators working, and Dorothy and Iris, a wonderful double act by de la Tour and Linda Bassett, enter into the spirit, Iris recalling the war-time Canadian troops and Dorothy dressing up in her Hardy Amies.

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Latest User Review

Al - 9 May 2013:

I am a relatively new fan of Alan Bennett and consequently have seen quite a number of his plays in a short space of time. I am always struck by the subtlety of the point he makes and this play is no different. The irony is that in People unravelling the point takes work because it is over-layed by, often farcical, comedy. People is a good romp in many respects, but with an undertone of seriousness if you can make the effort to find it. I found the way he portrayed the very different types of Englishness in his characters quite moving, and in a way touchingly tender towards a time and group of people that are ever dwindling. The stoic gung-ho Englishness of the past meets the cynical realism of the future. I enjoyed the subtle levels of the different characters, clinging or living in different degrees in the past, to the forward moving and forward looking characters, with Dotty in the middle as a pivot. A great deal of Bennet appears to be about the struggle to belong and this play is no different. Though this play, being set within an ever shrinking minority, perhaps makes the experience of empathy not as easily accessible to the audience. It also felt a bit like Bennett was playing, through the slightly awkward humour, not only with the Englishness of the people in the play, but also with the Englishness of the audience. The play rocks from poignant to outrageous and the reaction of the audience was almost as interesting as the characters in the play. It made me think about where i sit in the world, and my attitude to time and change. In truth, perhaps People is never going to be considered his most profound play, and i can understand why some people might feel disappointed. But all in all i recommend it as a good fun night out. ...

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